The Joker's Mind
by Everything.Becomes.Chaos
Summary: When Lieutenant Jim Gordon is short-staffed, he calls in an expert to get into the mind of the Joker. Logan Johnson is that expert, but she never expected that catching the Joker would be so difficult. Especially when he is determined to bring her down to his level. Can LJ learn to trust the people who offer her help, or is she stuck combating the clown all by herself?
1. Prologue

Prologue

Logan Johnson always knew that she was going to die earlier than most. When you are responsible for going after the world's most dangerous criminals, people just start to assume. She actually seemed to prefer a heroic demise rather than dying of something like Alzheimer's or old age. Logan even read that people with diseases like that slowly lose body functions until they can't even swallow water and can only say one or two words. She often found herself thinking about that. If she were to die, what would be her last words? Maybe something like _"not today"_ or _"put the gun down, I will shoot." _But she never expected this. To be in a situation where she had no control over what happened; where someone else had made her completely helpless. And she definitely wasn't going to let her last words be "_I give up."_

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_****_**A/N: Okay so I decided to just add this after I've already published the first few chapters because I realized that the first chapter is pretty boring in the beginning, and it needed something to make it more interesting. Anywho, new readers just ignore this note and thanks for reading :)**


	2. Welcome to Gotham

**A/N: This is my first Dark Knight fanfiction that I've written, so I apologize that if it's a little OOC, or lame. I pretty much just wrote it for fun. It is JokerxOC, but NOT romantic. I don't own any of the rights to this story, so that's my disclaimer. Anywho, review if you have any constructive criticism! I would love to hear from anyone! **

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One Month Earlier

Logan Johnson quickly stepped off the high speed train in the center of Gotham city with all of her possessions stuffed inside two worn Metropolis-PD duffel bags. Her long blonde hair whipped around her youthful face as a gust of wind blew wildly outside the train station. She walked briskly to avoid the crowds of people behind her who were also getting off the train from Metropolis. This was the first time she had ever been to Gotham city, and yet she was still relocating there. She was used to change though; her life was always dictated by change, especially lately.

A queue of faded yellow cabs lined the curb outside the train station. Logan gracefully slid her slim figure into the first car as she told the cabby the address of her new condo in the good part of the city. As the driver took off, she took the opportunity to turn her cell phone back on after the long train ride. She didn't want any disturbances as she read through the unsolved police reports that her new boss, James Gordon, sent to her. She was an aspiring new detective in the Metropolis-PD, and she had made her name by setting a record of arrests within her very first year. However her apprehension of a high profile serial killer, The New Troy Strangler, back in Metropolis really identified her as a capable police investigator. Police forces around the country tried to hire her, but she remained loyal to her squadron. That was the case until a few weeks ago. The Gotham city police force tried to hire her when Doctor Jonathan Crane threatened to poison the water supply, but she was in the middle of testifying in court to make sure The New Troy Strangler was sentenced to life in prison. Now that the mob and the rumors of a new crime lord threatened the safety of Gotham's citizens, Logan decided it was time for a change.

She rested her head against the window and looked out onto the new city; the place that she was going to protect to her fullest ability. Logan had been warned that Gotham's police department was notorious for having the most dirty cops as well, but she had plenty of experience dealing with them. She always did things by the book and followed the rules; Logan was always known for being very straight laced.

The different streets of Gotham easily reminded her of Metropolis, but she still felt out of place. There was a sort of terrified atmosphere that loomed over the city, and she was sure it was because of the mob's increasing power, the threat of the Scarecrow, or some new painted villain that is alluded to in a few of her police reports. Of course she was fascinated with the masked vigilante know as the Batman who protected the city as well. Though she didn't approve of his lawless ways, she appreciated his righteousness. He never killed and always fought for what was right, and she could respect that since she tried to do her job the exact same way. Ultimately, Logan knew that her new life in Gotham would never be boring.

Suddenly, he phone began to vibrate in her hand, snapping her out of her daze. "Hello?" she said in her most professional voice possible. Logan always had to work twice as hard and twice as professional as any other detective in her old team. Most people underestimated her ability as a leader, especially considering the way she looked. Most men looked down on her because of their idiotic and archaic, sexist beliefs. But she was used to it. Her appearance didn't help her case anyways. Logan had long blonde hair that usually fell into loose curls down her back. She had large, bright green eyes. All combined with her high cheek bones and lean muscles, people mistook her as vulnerable and easily taken advantage of. She, however, was quite the opposite. She had been brought up to stick up for herself, and had both weapons and arms training. She was an expert fighter and she held several degrees in the field of Criminal Psychology. Her specialty was to get into the minds of the most dangerous criminals, and that in itself required great control and practice. She was overqualified for being a city detective, but that didn't stop her. She loved her job, and loved proving that she was better than all the people who doubted her.

"Ah- Logan Johnson, it's Lieutenant Jim Gordon. I know you've just gotten into Gotham, but we're going to need you to come into work as soon as possible. We have a situation, and I need to get you ready to do your job quickly." Logan's heart started racing in anticipation. The thrill of a new case always intoxicated her, and once a new puzzle presented itself, she can't shake it until she's solved it. Logan instinctively traced her finger along a unique scar across her cheek. It was an unnaturally straight line that stretched from her ear down to the middle of her cheek, and it was a reminder of how important her job was to her. She had gotten the scar on the night that changed her life forever, but she repressed the memory and quickly responded to her new boss.

"Of course Lt. Gordon. I can get to the precinct in about an hour if I hurry." She looked over to her two bags. They contained most of her clothes. She never liked to have too many possessions, especially since she worked almost all the time. The condo she bought was already furnished, so she had no need for more stuff.

"Are you sure? You've only just arrived and it's getting late! Tomorrow morning will be fine." Gordon seemed surprised that she was so eager to start her new job. Though he knew he should have expected it. Detective Johnson was known for being very motivated and reliable. Just the kind of person he needed working in the Major Crimes Unit. Many of his officers were already under suspicion for being on the pay roll of the mob. Bringing a new, clean detective is just what Gotham needs, especially with what had been happening lately.

"If you don't mind, I would like to get situated in my new position and fill out all the paperwork tonight so I can begin working tomorrow. Only if you have time to show me the ropes of course! I can't imagine it's much different than being back in Metropolis." Logan kept staring at the street signs as the cabby kept driving. She tried to commit each one to memory, seeing as she would have to be very familiar with them to be successful at her job.

"You know what, that's a good idea. We're going to have to talk before you officially start. I assume you haven't told anyone that you've relocated to Gotham yet? I want to keep your arrival to be under the Mob's radar. We're going to need someone who can poke around without drawing suspicion, and someone who can go undercover within the next few weeks. Mostly just protective detail, ex-cetera. You'll be able to get acquainted with the city without being thrown into the bureaucracy of it all just yet." Gordon's voice tapered off toward the end of his sentence, and she could hear someone else addressing her new boss. All she could hear was a woman's voice saying "-can't resist showing us his face" in the background, but that voice was drowned out by the sound of police sirens. Something big must have gone down just as she was arriving in the city.

"I have been trained to be very discrete, so that won't be a problem." She said into her phone once the sirens died down. Logan looked back out the window just in time to see a line of cop cars with their sirens on in front of a predominant bank in the center of the city. She must be around where Gordon was.

"I'll have an unmarked car dropped off a block north of your address. You're living on Wells Street, am I correct?" Logan confirmed his assumption and allowed him to continue. "This car will be yours for the time being. All head detectives are issued their own. The keys will be hidden in the gas compartment. Try not to dress like a police officer when you get here, you never know who will be watching." Logan was generally surprised by how this conversation had changed her expectations for her job description. This was not at all how she pictured her life, but she was happy that she would be able to make some sort of difference.

"Sounds good, thank you Lieutenant. I'll see you in a few hours or so." Logan heard her new boss hang up the phone just as the cab driver pulled up to her new home. It was a tall, modern building that faced the both the lake and the South Loop of Gotham. It was a very central location, and in the nicer part of town. Logan quickly paid the cabby generously and she grabbed her bags and walked toward the doorman. She quickly introduced herself, and flashed her ID, proving that she was a new tenant. He explained that she would have to swipe her ID at the elevator in order to make it work, and that she would be living on the 21st floor. Logan did as the door man instructed, and the elevator silently sped upwards toward her new home.

Logan hastily unlocked the door to her new condo and threw her bags inside. She was greeted with a breeze of clean, cold air. The space was open and very light. She walked into the first room to explore her new home. The room was a combination of a very large living room and a makeshift dining room. It was very modern with hardwood floors, white furniture surrounding a glass coffee table and a large flat screen TV mounted on the wall. Behind the white couch was a circular, glass dining table with five tall, white chairs surrounding it. The kitchen was separated by a marble countertop, and was equipped with stainless steel appliances. There were large windows that had a beautiful view of the whole city. She could even see the line of cop cars outside the bank. She just assumed that it was robbed or something. The sirens reminded her that she was running on a deadline. She quickly admired the rest of her new condo, and walked around to find the bathroom and the bedroom.

After she hung up all the rest of her clothes and set up the bathroom the way she liked it, Logan decided to make herself look like less of a cop. It wasn't that hard; most people don't expect her to be a detective just by her appearance, which she resented. After taking a quick shower to wake herself up, Logan blow dried and quickly curled her hair. She applied some makeup to make her seem more put together. Checking the time, Logan realized that she was running late so she grabbed the first things she saw in her closet: her favorite pair of dark skinny jeans, brown riding boots, and a ruffled white chiffon top and a plain black cardigan. She just looked like an average girl living in the city. She pushed all of her dress pants and button-up shirts to the back of her closet to remind herself not to wear them. She checked her oversized watch and realized that she had to leave as soon as possible. Logan grabbed her leather satchel purse and threw her new keys and ID into it as she double checked the locks on her door.

It took her only five minutes to find the car that Gordon said he would send over. It was just a plain mid-sized, black toyota. The keys were exactly where her boss said that they would be. Once inside the car, she noticed a small piece of folded paper taped to the steering wheel. She ripped it off and read what it said: "Once you get to the station, tell one of the officers that you witnessed the bank robbery. Tell they that you'll only talk to me about what you know. We are interviewing the hostages from the bank around 8, so you will blend right in. I'll fill you in on what you'll be doing once you get here. -Lt. Gordon".

The clock on the dashboard of her car let her know that it was almost 8:00 at night; she was right on time. On the train she had tried to memorize most of the main streets of central Gotham, so she knew how to get to the precinct. It took her ten minutes to get to the police station, but it could have taken her five if she hadn't made three wrong turns.

Once in the train station, Logan surveyed the new building that she would eventually be working in once her undercover duties were over. People were shuffling in and out of the doors in a busy frenzy, which made her miss being in the middle of the chaos. Logan shook her head and started walking toward the main doors. Unbeknownst to her, two pairs of painted black eyes were watching her that night.

Logan threw her shoulders back and headed into the unfamiliar building. It looked and even smelled just like her old office, but it was less comforting. She could tell people were scared of something, but she didn't know what. A common officer walked up to her as soon as she entered the bustling work place.

"What do you need miss?" the uniformed man asked. Logan smiled curtly and nodded her head, remembering what Gordon told her to do.

"I need to talk to Lt. Gordon. I witnessed the bank robbery earlier today." Logan said, trying to keep eye contact with the cop without showing any sign of deception. With her interrogation training, she was taught how to lie well, and how to spot a liar. Interrogation and understanding people were actually what she was best at.

"Can I have your name please, I'll tell him that you're here." The cop didn't seem suspicious at all; he actually seemed pretty new at the job.

Logan smiled reassuringly and nodded as innocently as possible. "Of course! You can call me LJ." The officer signaled her to sit in the designated waiting area with the rest of the witnesses as he got the Lieutenant.

It only took him a few minutes to meet her, and nobody questioned the fact that Gordon was eager to interrogate one of the witnesses. He nodded to her in acknowledgment as she held out her hand to introduce herself to him for the first time.

"Follow me miss," Gordon said after he shook her hand professionally. He lead Logan to his office and closed the blinds. The office was very disorganized with pages of the Gotham Times on the ground. Most of the top headlines were plastered with pictures of the so called "Joker" after the bank robbery. It looked like Gordon had invested in even the craziest tabloids claiming that the bank was robbed because of some insane controversy. Those of course were at the bottom of the piles. He had a whiteboard with illegible notes and pictures of the Joker. Even Gordon himself was looking worn out. There were purple bags under his eyes, and it seemed like there was a permanent scowl plastered on his face.

"Detective Johnson, it's so great that you came out here to help us with our little situation with the Joker. We just have to approach this problem with a lot of care. If you're going to be working under the radar, we need to make sure there are no slip ups." Gordon ran his hand through his hair and adjusted his glasses; Logan could tell that he was under a lot of stress.

"Sir, I'm here to do my best. I can tell you have a lot on your plate, and I don't want to cause any unneeded stress." She tried to reassure him, knowing that the stress of the job could get overwhelming.

"I have complete faith that you will do your job, but there are certain factors that even I don't control. So I've already taken the liberty of making sure there are no articles with your picture on the internet, ex-cetera. Though it wasn't hard since most of them were deleted when you were going after the New Troy Strangler. However, we already have come across one possible source of problems." Logan tilted her head in confusion, not knowing what could possibly have gone wrong already. The lieutenant reached into a pile of articles and fished one out. There was a small article on the second page of the Gotham Times with the headline, "Police Department Brings in Consulting Profiler". The article didn't have a picture of her, but it clearly revealed her name and when she was arriving.

Logan quickly snatched the article to read the full story. Once finished, she just laughed to herself. The journalist, Ben Stewart, clearly had a misinformed source.

"What's so funny?" Gordon said, clearly confused.

Logan smiled to herself before answering. "They refer to me as a 'he'". She smiled again, secretly thanking her parents for giving her an ambiguous name. "I actually think this will eventually help us. If people are expecting a man, they are more likely to ignore me." However this did raise the question: who knew that she was being brought to Gotham City? Even if they didn't have the whole story, they knew part of it.

Relief swept through Gordon's facial features, not realizing that one error. He finally felt more confident in this plan. Once again, he rifled through his desk and grabbed several things: keys, a badge, a gun, a few sheets of paper, and a manilla envelope. He quickly handed the sheets of paper to her with a pen.

"Here's your contract to work here, just the normal protocol." Logan quickly read through the documents, and signed her name at the bottom. Once she was done, her new boss handed her the official Gotham Police Department badge and standard issue gun. Logan admired the badge and its insignia. Though the Gotham police was known

for the dirty cops in its ranks, it was also known for being very prestigious. A sense of pride spread through her body, even as she inspected the gun and made sure the safety was on. She quickly stashed her new tools in her big purse to make sure no one would see them accidentally.

"So what is my job description exactly, Lieutenant Gordon?" she inquired curiously. Gordon hadn't really revealed any information, and she wanted to start as quickly as possible. The Joker wasn't waiting on anyone, and the faster she had him off the streets the better.

"Obviously we need as much help as we need to stop the Joker. As of this moment, the whole police force is focusing on taking down the mob. It's a group of organized criminals or one man. But it seems like the Joker is getting more and more out of control, and I want to stop him before it gets any more serious. That's where you come in. I'm going to be a liaison between you and the police department. Whenever we receive new information on the Joker, I'll send it to you. Tonight, I'll take you to the bank so you get a feel for what kind of criminal we're dealing with. From there, I want you to try to compile a complete profile for the Joker, and try to predict where he will strike next. After that, we'll have to change your job description a little. Do you have a problem being on protective detail? I'm told you have advanced combat and weapons training." Gordon spoke as quickly as he could, in a hushed tone. Occasionally, he would scan the windows in his office to make sure that the blinds were still closed. It was very apparent that he took this very seriously.

Logan felt honored that Gordon would already be putting so much trust in her. She was never treated like this in Metropolis until she had successfully arrested the New Troy Strangler. "Yes I have very extensive combat training. And I would be more than willing and capable of doing whatever is needed."

"That's what I like to hear. I think it would be best if you introduced yourself to people as LJ. Unless, of course, you want to go as another name." Gordon grabbed the keys that he had grabbed earlier. He wanted to head over to the bank as soon as possible.

"Oh no, LJ is fine. Most of my friends call me that anyways, and it will be most natural. I find that the most convincing lies have a bit of truth in them."

"Perfect," Gordon replied. "Let's head over to the bank today. We should probably drive separately, so I'll meet you there in 10 minutes".

...

As Gordon and Logan were driving to the bank, a similar meeting that was happening at the same time in an secluded warehouse in the Narrows. The Joker lounged in his chair and kicked his feet up onto the desk in front of him.

"Good _even_ing, gentlemen." He slurred in a sinisterly, high pitch voice. "I'm sure you've all, ah, seen the newspaper?" From his comfortable position on the desk, the Joker violently ripped open the newspaper and pointed to an article that was outlined in a messy red substance, that was most likely blood. He had written "HA-HA" around the blood in a scribbling fervor.

"'Police Department Brings in Consulting Profiler'?" one tall, lanky man asked in a confused tone from behind a clown mask.

"It seems like, ah, our dear friend Lieutenant Gordon has called in some . . . hotshot profiler to stop our fun. And I'm thinking it's our, uh, _responsibility_ to show this guy some, ah, _hospitality_." A eerie grin crossed the Joker's scarred lips as he erupted in a hair-raising fit of laughter.

...

A few days after Gordon brought Logan to bank to learn about his methods, she had come up with an exhaustive profile after spending countless hours in her apartment reading about him and watching some of the videos that had miraculously captured him on film. Coincidentally, right as Logan closed her laptop to look out the window and think over her completed profile, Gordon called for an update. Apparently the Joker had struck fear in the city again.

"Johnson I need you to get down to the station ASAP. We need to have a face-to-face." After their short conversation, Logan ran to her closet to change out of her pajamas. Ultimately, she chose black skinny jeans, ballet flats, and a light blue oxford button up shirt. She made sure nothing looked too professional or "police-like". She shook out her wavy blonde hair and applied some makeup. Right as she was about to leave and as she was putting her computer in her leather satchel, her phone started to ring. The caller ID read "Lt. Gordon".

"Hello?" Logan said inquisitively into the phone. She could hear sirens in the background and people yelling.

"Yeah Johnson, change of plans. I'm going to need you to come to City Hall right now. The Joker has killed again." Without saying anything else, Logan hung up the phone and ran down to her car to speed off to meet the Lieutenant.

Once she got there, she knew she was in the right spot. Cop cars surrounded a small perimeter of space right below the building with the Mayor's office. Police in uniforms were making sure civilians didn't cross some sort of imaginary line. Logan quickly parked the car and stood in the crowd of bystanders, trying to get a look at the bodies. Luckily, she was able to weave through the small mob of people because of her thin, tall frame. In a matter of minutes, she was in the front of the crowd, and merely only five feet away from the Joker's victims. She made quick eye contact with her boss, who was standing over the two bodies. Without hesitation, Logan pulled out her camera and snapped a picture of the deceased. Suddenly, a gut wrenching response in her stomach reminded her that she recognized on of the victims. She had a good eye for faces, but it took a while for her to place where she knew him from. He was one of the police officers present when she first went to meet with Gordon about her job. However, Logan did not know the other victim. He was dressed up like Batman, unlike the cop she knew who was wearing dress pants and a collared shirt. What stuck out the most was that both of them had white paint spread across their their skin with red paint forming grotesque smiles on their cheeks.

Not knowing what to do next since she couldn't examine the bodies without exposing who she was, Logan made eye contact with Gordon again and walked into the nearest coffee shop. She made sure her boss saw where she was going so he would meet her. She picked a spot in the corner so no one would see nor hear what they would be saying. While she waited, she opened her computer and connected her camera to upload the pictures she took of the crime scene.

What she saw made her heart skip a beat. When she zoomed in on the picture, she noticed two Joker playing cards pinned to each of the bodies. The one pinned to the Batman impersonator read "Will the real Batman please stand up?". The one on the cop's body was identical to the other one, but different in one major aspect. Instead, it said "Will the real Logan Johnson please stand up?". There was obviously something that Gordon wasn't telling her. Why did the Joker think that this officer was her? A realization struck her, a realization that plagued her with guilt. This man had died because of her. If she hadn't gone undercover to protect herself, he wouldn't have died. Logan knew that this had to be the end of her passivity. No one else was going to die because of her, and she was sure Gordon would agree. Especially since her profile was complete. Now all the had to do was predict where the Joker would strike next.

As she waited for Gordon to arrive, she ordered a large coffee to combat the exhaustion that her guilt was making her feel. Once she took the first sip of caffein, she felt ready to delve into the mind of this ruthless criminal.

Logan knew that the Joker was very intelligent, lacked empathy, held very little care for his own safety, and was extremely sadistic. Once he held onto an idea, he would deliver. He had an obsession with creating chaos, and could read people very well. Especially when they were scared. His main goal was to disrupt accepted norms in order to create the most disorder. With these conclusions, she found that he had antisocial personality disorder, along with psychotic tendencies. He held no regard for money, and often acted on instinct. This made him especially hard to predict, since it seemed like he often didn't know what he was doing. Logan poured through the rest of her evidence, and only found things to support the things she had already concluded. He really understood how people worked, and used that against his victims. Somehow she knew that his killing of the unnamed cop was meant to draw her out. And he was fairly successful.

"LJ, sorry that took a while. The reporters were relentless." Gordon's face seemed especially strained today. He must be under an enormous amount of stress, but she couldn't help but feel anger toward him. He knew something that she didn't know, and that secret resulted in the dead cop.

"Gordon. Thanks for meeting me." Logan's face remained unchanged, and he automatically knew something was up. "So you want to tell me what that Joker card meant?" He instantly knew what she was talking about.

"Yes, I figured you would notice that. Well, the day after we met, I told a rookie cop to go to evidence lock up and get the clown masks from the bank robbery by using your name." Gordon stopped before explaining himself to gauge her reaction. A look of horror flashed across her face. "I was stupid, and I thought that this would expose one of the traitors in my unit. I was wrong and I'm sorry, but there is nothing I can do now."

"There is actually something we can do. We can catch this bastard. Gordon, I can't sit back any longer. I need to be out there, actively working to protect the people of Gotham from this lunatic." Logan's voice was quiet, yet firm. She knew how to stand her ground and fight for things she knew were right. And this was definitely the right thing to do.

...

Back at the empty warehouse in the Narrows, the Joker paced around his office. The thrill of the last kill still set his teeth on edge, but he was still left with a nagging empty feeling. Somehow this Logan Johnson guy had tricked him. That thought made anger erupt throughout his body, suddenly causing him punch the wall ferociously. Pain radiated through his arm, but he liked the feeling. The Joker fell into a fit of disturbing laughter once again as he started talking to himself.

"If this Logan guys likes to play games so much, then I'll show him a real joke." He growled to himself as he kicked his chair around the room in rage and continued to laugh hysterically.

...

"I assume you've finished the profile?" Gordon asked Logan as he sat back down after getting a coffee as well.

"Yeah, I finished it this morning. And I've been trying to create some sort of criminal algorithm, factoring current events, to try to predict where he will strike next."

"Have any success?" Gordon was surprised that she had worked so quickly.

"I'm fairly certain that he will try to pull a stunt at the Harvey Dent Fundraiser tomorrow night in Wayne Tower. Since he's working for the mob now, I'm pretty sure he will try to counteract what Dent has done by cleaning up the streets." Gordon nodded in agreement. He knew that Logan was good, but he didn't think she was this good.

"That's a smart deduction . . . " he paused, and it seemed like he was creating a plan right that moment. "You say you want to get more involved? How do you feel about fundraisers?" Logan smiled to herself, knowing that she was finally going to have some fun with her job.

"I'll get you an invite to Wayne's fundraiser, but just try not to advertise who you are. If the Joker is there, that will just put you in more danger." Gordon checked his phone and realized that he would have to leave soon. "Can you email me your profile? We need as much help as we can get." Logan nodded an said goodbye as he got up and left. Ideas about Wayne's fundraiser swam through her mind, causing her to be both worried and excited. Nothing excited her more than a new case, and this was definitely the start of one.


	3. Party of the Year

**A/N: Wow you guys, I didn't expect people to start reading this! It means a lot to me that you guys reviewed/ added this story to your alerts! So shout out to trudes193 and finishyourtea and all you silent readers. You guys made my day :) This chapter's for you!**

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Instead of going home after the meeting with her boss, Logan went shopping to pick up a dress for the fundraiser. She, of course, was being paid to work for Gordon but it was just more discrete. After spending a few hours in the different boutiques of downtown Gotham, she found the perfect one. The dress was strapless with a baby doll cut. It was made out of a light purple chiffon that was tight around the bodice and draped down the rest of her body to her ankles. It had an elegant sheen that covered it and made the dress look ethereal. For shoes, she just picked out plain nude pumps. They couldn't be that high since she already stood at 5 ft 9 inches.

Once she got home, Logan quickly hung up her new dress to make sure it didn't wrinkle. Instead of going to sleep like she should have, she decided to clean up her now messy condo. After countless hours of getting into the mind of the Joker, the cleanliness of her new home was disastrous. Newspaper articles were thrown around the floor, dirty dishes covered every empty space, and pictures of the Joker were taped to the windows. Instead of wallowing in her guilt, Logan buried it in her new mission to clean every inch of her home.

Nothing interrupted her until about 12:30 at night, when her phone started to ring. The number was a private number, and Logan half expected to hear the Joker's voice on the other side, but that luckily wasn't the case.

"Hello, is this Logan Johnson?" a confident male voice answered.

"Yeah that's me, who's this? And how do you have my name and number?" She said, almost annoyed. Nobody else besides Gordon knew that she was here. Let alone knew her number.

"My apologies, I should have introduced myself. You may have heard of me, my name is Bruce Wayne. And from what I understand, your boss has assigned you to protect my fundraiser just in case the Joker decides to show his face." Logan sighed in relief, not knowing what else she was expecting. Gordon did tell her that he was going to contact her.

"Oh of course, I guess I should have expected this phone call. Are you sure you still want to host this fundraiser, given our current situation?" Though Logan thought this was a great way to trap the Joker, she hated putting civilians in danger. If the Joker did show up tonight, she was going to do her best job of trying to protect everyone there.

"I don't think that's possible. I like showing Gotham that there are still people left who won't give into the chaos that the Joker is creating. I'm sure you understand?"

"I can respect that. Now Mr. Wayne, I was wondering if I could arrive half an hour early to scope out the different entrances and exits and find possible security breaches that the Joker could use to his advantage?" Logan was going to take every precaution necessary to make sure that no one died tomorrow night.

"That's a fantastic idea. Now for your cover, stop me if I'm crossing any boundaries, but would you be kind enough to pose as my date tonight? And please, call me Bruce." The air of righteousness disappeared from his voice and was replaced with cockiness. Logan rolled her eyes, but agreed that this would be the best way to ensure the secrecy of her identity.

"Mr. Wa-, I mean Bruce, are you sure that's smart? You don't even know what I look like." A laugh came from the other side of the phone, but he didn't respond so Logan continued. "Though that does seem most logical, of course it would be strictly professional."

"Of course Logan. I'll have Alfred let you into my penthouse around 8:30 tomorrow. Most guests will probably get there around 9:30 anyways. I look forward to talking to you tomorrow."

...

With that, Bruce hung up the phone and turned to the computer screens in front of him. Half of the screens flashed between different video recordings of the Joker, meanwhile, the other half were recordings of Logan in Gotham since the moment she stepped off the train from Metropolis. Of course Bruce knew who she was before she even got to Gotham. He found that it was Batman's responsibility to know the people who were in charge of upholding the law in his city. This interest in Logan Johnson piqued when the cop was killed alongside the Batman impersonator. It seemed like they had a lot more in common than her first though. She could even possibly be Batman's ally in the near future. That's why he was going to keep a close eye on her at the fundraiser. He had to make sure she would be trustworthy.

...

On the day of the party, Logan slept in late. She knew that it would take a lot of energy if the Joker did indeed show up. After what seemed like countless hours of getting ready, Logan was officially ready. Her hair was curled in loose waves and swept to one side. She applied minimal makeup, but focused on making her blue eyes pop out and make her lips shimmer. Once looking in the mirror, she knew she was done. She hadn't yet put on her dress, but she couldn't yet. There were a few adjustments that she needed to make.

The first thing she did was slip on tight fitting body armor. It was state of the art and extremely thin, meaning it would fit right under her dress without being noticeable. It would stop bullets, as long as they weren't close range. The last things she put on before her dress were thigh holsters to hold her gun and a couple of knives, just in case.

Logan slipped both her dress and shoes on and twirled in the mirror. She felt strange being so dressed up, but she kind of liked it. She finally back in action, and ready to take the Joker down.

...

Like Bruce promised, Logan was let into his penthouse half an hour early. His butler Alfred was very kind, and showed her everything that she needed to see. He even offered her food as she waited for more guests to arrive. However, it took the whole time to survey the exits and make sure everything was working well. His penthouse was enormous, and there were way too many doors and windows to her liking.

By the time the first guests started to arrive, Logan was just finishing up and talking to Alfred in one of the back rooms. She figured that she would wait a couple minutes before she started to mingle so people wouldn't wonder why she was so early. Suddenly, the distinctive sound of a helicopter interrupted their light conversation and lured Logan into the main party room.

"Sorry I'm late- glad to see you've started without me! Where's Rachel?" The unmistakable voice of the Prince of Gotham himself, Bruce Wayne, carried over the large crowd in his home. Logan surveyed the people and spotted the woman that Wayne was talking about. Rachel seemed to cringe a little because of the newfound attention that was on her as he gestured at her.

"Rachel Dawes- my oldest friend. When she told me she was dating Harvey Dent, I had one thing to say . . . " Wayne's arrogance seemed to increase with every double sided statement that he seemed to make at Harvey Dent's expense. Though she knew that he was somehow trying to show his support, his playboy-persona seemed to override his good intention. Logan rolled her eyes at how one person could have an ego that big. Instead of listening to the rest of his speech, Logan tried to locate the people the Joker would probably target: Bruce Wayne and Harvey Dent. Wayne was obviously easy to spot, but Dent was a bit harder. But not that hard. He was obviously the blonde man who seemed to be extremely uncomfortable.

A slight vibration from a secret pocket in her dress broke her attention from the crowd and forced her attention elsewhere. Gordon was calling her, probably with more information about the Joker's whereabouts.

Before Logan could even say anything, Gordon began to talk. His voice was plagued with a sense of urgency and anxiety. "Johnson, the Joker's targeting Dent. The Joker cards pinned to the body had his DNA, Judge Surrillo's, and Commissioner Loeb's. I'm heading over to City Hall for the Commissioner, but make sure you focus your efforts on him."

"Got it, thanks Gordon. Be careful." As Logan hung up, she slid the phone back into its hiding place with her police badge and nonchalantly walked over to Harvey Dent. She figured the best way to approach the situation was to be as honest as possible. Her cover was no longer her first priority. Luckily, Dent seemed to be alone and even somewhat awkward.

"Sir, my name is Logan Johnson. You may be familiar with my work?" Harvey's eyes grew wide and his mouth seemed to drop a few centimeters in recognition. She could see that he was about to ask a lot of questions, but she didn't let him start. "We don't have much time. I've been working undercover with Gordon and we firmly believe that the Joker has made a threat against your life. He may even make an appearance here. I need you to find Rachel and either hide or leave."

"I have no intention of running, but I will find Rachel. He's not going to hurt anyone if he only needs me." Dent's misplaced sense of righteousness frustrated her to no end, but she understood where he was coming from. If she were in his situation, she would do the same thing.

"Let's go find Rachel then. But don't think that this is me approving of your choices. Because I don't." Logan began to lead the way, knowing that she had last seen Rachel heading into the kitchen after talking to Harvey.

"Rachel?" Harvey announced frantically as he went through the doors to the kitchen. Once he spotted her, his body language seemed more relaxed. "Rachel, this is Logan Johnson." Like Harvey, her eyes bulged with surprise, instantly recognizing her name. "She thinks that the Joker has made a threat against-" Before he could finish, Wayne came up behind him and put Dent in a headlock.

"They've come for him." Those simple words put Logan on edge. Gordon obviously kept Wayne in the loop with the Joker situation, but she didn't understand why she needed to put him in a sleeper hold. It was probably the only way that they could have gotten Dent to go quietly. Logan had no time to question what was going on, because she could hear the Joker in the other room, and she had to do something.

Logan wasted no time before grabbing Rachel's shoulders and giving her instructions. "Rachel. I need you to listen to me. Go with Harvey, and whatever you do, don't come out of that closet." Rachel nodded furiously, clearly in some sort of shock.

Once she knew that Harvey and Rachel were safe, Logan made her way silently into the main room, blending in with the rest of the crowd. She easily maneuvered her way to the front of the crowd, putting the Joker in her eye line. This was the first time she was actually seeing him in person, and just the sight of him sent chills down her back. The gruesome scars that jutted up his cheeks in the signature, sickening smile made her cringe. He seemed to be moving through the guests to find Harvey Dent, smiling to himself.

"I only have _one_ question: where _is_ Harvey Dent-ah?" Logan would never be able to get that disturbingly distinct voice out of her head until she herself put him behind bars. As he turned around in frustration when nobody answered him, she took the chance to observe his behavior and decide what to do. Both he and his clown-team had loaded guns, and Logan was positive that they were willing to shoot anyone who stepped out of line. But she knew that she had to do something. He wasn't going to leave unless he caused a little chaos.

"I'll, uh, settle for his _loved_ ones . . ." Though he seemed to emphasize odd parts of words and pause between his sentences, she knew that this man was highly intelligent. She would have analyzed his movements more if it hadn't been for a gentleman who stood up to him as he walked around the room.

"We're not intimidated by thugs." The man claimed with a false sense of bravado. His shaky voice betrayed him and showed how scared he really was. The Joker stationed himself right in front of the older man and paused, tilting his head to the side as if to read what he was thinking. Before he started to talk, he smiled almost affectionately, but Logan knew that it wasn't.

"You know, you remind me of my _father_." The Joker forcefully grabbed him behind the neck, bringing a knife to his mouth. "I **hated** my father." The situation had gotten out of control really fast, and Logan had to step in. Her heart started to beat erratically as she stepped out into the open.

"Stop!" She yelled, putting her calculated plan in motion. She factored in the Joker's motives, personality, and general M.O. to figure out the best way to trick him into the weaker position.

Luckily, the Joker seemed more interested in her than the gentleman that he had trapped with his knife. A sickening smile flashed across his face one last time, but this time Logan was ready for it. His appearance no longer sent chills down her back because she was able to compartmentalize her fear. Though her plans required her to seem like some fragile, defenseless, scared girl so she called these fears back to the surface.

"Hello, _beaut_-iful." He quipped, as he ran his gloved hand through his hair as if to clean up for her. "You must be Harvey's _squeeze_." He punctuated every syllable with a jab of his knife toward her as he walked over. Logan had him right where she wanted him, and she definitely wasn't going to correct his mistake. She made sure her body was placed in the most innocent way. Instead of crossing her arms defiantly, she held her hands clasped in front of her. She even conjured up a few fake tears to her green eyes.

"And you are beautiful." He whispered as he got uncomfortably close to her. The Joker began to circle around her like a lion and its prey, and Logan definitely played the victim part to her best ability.

"P-please, j-just leave. We have m-money." She purposefully stuttered over her words, making sure she used her femininity to her advantage. Everybody always underestimated her, and Logan learned that strategically, that could be useful. Also, of course, she knew that the Joker wasn't actually after any money, and she figured that her offer would really just make him more angry.

"You think I want, ah, _money_, hm? You know, you, ah, remind me of my dear, old _mother_." His words came out harshly as he grabbed the back of her head and brought a knife to her mouth, just as he did to the older man earlier.

"She was selfish, like you. Who tells my father she needs more. Who becomes one of the mob's girls. Who was only good at one thing: keeping secrets. Who only wants _money._ And does anything to get it. One day, she brings a guy home. One of the mob bosses. And he's only interested in one thing. Her. She tells me to hide in a closet until she's done. Until she's done enough to earn her more _money_." Logan let out a pathetic whimper, as she weakly struggled against his tightening grip, refusing to say anything. She knew if she did, she would probably blow her whole act. "That day, my father comes home early, _drunk_ like always. Catches her in the act. He takes a razor and carves both their faces. He sees me. And comes at _me_ with the knife. Now I see the funny side. Now I'm always smiling!" He growls in her face, while pressing the knife closer to her teeth.

"So to answer you question. _NO_, I don't want your mon-ey." Suddenly, he pulls back, clearly bored with her. He looks around wildly and catches the eye of one of his men and nods his head sporadically, as if giving some kind of signal. In the bottom of her heart, she knew what that meant, and she had hoped that this would happen. Logan quickly looked around and saw just who she needed to. Batman had finally showed up. As he met her eye, she winked; just as one of the Joker's henchmen aimed and shot their gun right at Logan's chest.

It was at that point that all hell broke loose. Batman efficiently knocked out all three of the Joker's masked henchmen, leaving just the Joker and him to fight. No one seemed to notice when the woman on the floor took a deep breath in pain, letting the radiating pressure from where the bullet hit her bullet proof vest ease up. She tried to catch her breath, but she was still seeing stars. The fight in front of her seemed to be just a blur of purple and black. It seemed to take hours but in reality it was just a few seconds, and her vision finally became normal. This was exactly what she had counted on to happen, and now it was time to effectively but her plan in motion. Swiftly, she grabbed her gun from her thigh strap and stood up slowly. Then she was able to really assess what was happening. The Joker seemed to have the upper hand in the fight since he stabbed Batman in between the plates of his armor covering his ribcage with a knife from his shoe. This was her time to shine. She quickly wiped the fake tears off her face, held her gun out in front of her, and became the hardened profiler that she truly was. She was only a few feet away from the fight, so she silently snook up behind the Joker and cleared her throat.

"You know, for a criminal that dresses up like a circus clown, I would think you would know not to judge a book by its cover." She said strongly over the sounds of the Joker's laughter and the whimpers of the party goers that were still trapped there. The entire room got silent. That seemed to shut his maniacal laughter up for the time being as he slowly turned around to see who was standing up to him again. He was greeted by the mouth of her gun pointed right at his forehead. She stared him right in the eyes, showing how unafraid she really was. Some sort of intrigue seemed to bubble up in his eyes. Even the half of Batman's face that the people could see flashed with confusion.

"Now _what_ do we, uh, have here?" He said, smiling wider than she had ever seen or had ever thought was possible.

"I'll give you one thing. I am like your mother in one way; I guess I'm really good at keeping secrets." With that, she gracefully flipped her gun so she had a firm hold of the butt and rammed it into his skull, successfully knocking him unconscious. There were gasps that rang out within the crowd of people, but they were soon drowned out by the sound of approaching cop cars and Gordon announcing himself.

"You know, when I put you on this case I knew I would get results, but I didn't expect them to be this quick." Gordon said as he laughed and passed Logan his own handcuffs. "I believe you should get the honor of bringing him in, Detective Johnson. Congratulations."


	4. Secrets and Lies

Hours past before Logan was finally able to change out of her uncomfortable dress and just sit in her condo. After she had arrested the Joker, Gordon insisted that she needed to go to the hospital for her wound, just in case. She had been through much worse, so she didn't think it was necessary. But Gordon was insisting, and she would rather do that than deal with the aftermath of the stunt she pulled at the party. She agreed that she would get checked out by a medic once she saw for herself that the Joker was in a cell at the MCU.

The ride to the MCU was seemingly painless, especially since the Joker was still knocked unconscious. She personally escorted the painted criminal into his jail cell, as the rest of the officers applauded her. After Gordon formally introduced her to her squadron, Logan quickly talked to a medic on duty. He said what she expected: that she had just fractured a rib sustained considerable bruising. He advised her to relax for a week or so, but she ignored his instructions.

The drive to her condo took way longer than it had originally since she could barely get into her car without being harassed by news teams trying to get a quote from her. Logan just brushed them off and sped off to her new home. She even took a longer way home to make sure that nobody was following her. Once she swiped into the elevator, she took a deep breath and exhaled. This had been one of the most stressful days she experienced in a long time. At least since she got off the train from Metropolis. Once she got into her condo, she rushed to her bedroom to change. She grabbed tight black yoga capris, and a loose gray racerback tank-top with the Gotham Police Department insignia on the breast pocket. She took her curled hair and thew it up into a messy bun on the top of her head. Logan didn't even bother to wash away her makeup since she barely had any on.

The events of that night seemed to clutter her mind as she poured herself some wine to calm herself down. She knew that she wouldn't be able to sleep tonight, not only because adrenaline was still pumping through her veins, but also because her phone was ringing off the hook. All sorts of reporters had somehow gotten her number, and were looking for some sort of exclusive with the "new hero of Gotham", or whatever they were referring to her as. Logan rolled her eyes, not letting the newfound fame get to her head. She was just doing her job, and not looking for thanks of any kind.

Suddenly, the hairs on the back of her neck began to rise as her instincts pulled her out of her deep thoughts. It was probably nothing, but her instincts were barely ever wrong. Logan slowly put her wine glass on her coffee table and grabbed her gun that she had cleaned earlier. A small creaking noise confirmed her fears as she stealthily prowled to the source of the sound: her bedroom. It felt like hours before she made it to her bedroom, and the thought of one of the Joker's henchmen being in her home made her skin crawl. That wasn't going to happen if she could do anything about it.

The door to her room, luckily, was already open. So she silently slipped through the crack and drew her gun out in front of her. As she surveyed the room, she noticed that her window leading to the fire exit was open. Without turning her back to her open room, she slowly backed toward the open window. Keeping her ears and eyes peeled for anyone who could have broken into her room, she quickly turned to close the window. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement and simultaneously faced the perpetrator and turned on the light.

"Freeze," she growled through her teeth. But the figure she saw surprised her. This was the second time she had seen the caped crusader, and he was much larger than she remembered from the hours before. "What the hell are you doing in my house?" she hissed. Logan's heartbeat slowed considerably, but adrenaline still pumped through her veins. Now she definitely was never going to get to sleep.

"I just wanted to make sure you made it home safely after what you did. Joker has eyes and ears everywhere. People are going to come after you now." Batman's gravelly voice seemed to calm her nerves, but she was furious that he had broken into her house.

"Are you kidding me? Have you ever heard of knocking? Even just knocking on the window would have been fine if you're so cautious about getting seen. Jeez!" Logan tried to keep her voice down. She always though yelling was a sign of uncontrollable anger, and she liked to keep her emotions in check.

Batman just stared at her in wonder. He never knew what to expect from her, even after observing her since she got to Gotham and at the fundraiser. Though they never talked at his party, Bruce had been watching her to see what she would do. And he was amazed with her control over the situation.

"Okay then . . . Now why are you here again?" Logan was surprised when he didn't respond to her outburst. Maybe he liked to keep a lid on his emotions like she did.

"Just be careful. I caught a reporter looking through your car windows. You're in the spot light now. You're the new beacon of hope for this city that I can't be. Be careful with what you do with this new power." Logan was insulted that Batman would think that she was just looking for attention.

"Look buddy, you don't know me, so I'll let this slide for now. But I'm not some fame-seeker. I do my job because I want to bring wrongdoers to justice, and nothing else. Now I would appreciate it if you would leave now. I need to get some work done." Her response seemed to catch Batman off guard. He didn't expect her to be so similar to him. Logan could even catch the slightest smirk flash across his lips for a second.

"Fair enough. I'll be keeping my eye out for you. By the way, how did you know that the Joker would have one of his goons shoot you?" Logan knew that Batman was referring to the wink that she gave him right before the henchman shot her in the chest.

"I've been researching him for a whole week; I could have figured that out even if I had been studying him for a day. You underestimate me too much Batman. It's my job to get into his twisted mind, and I'm good at it. So to answer your question: I guess a little luck and a lot of planning." Batman looked like he was deep in thought as she explained herself.

"This is not the end of the Joker's reign of terror. Just be prepared." He whispered as he exited the window from where he came. Logan ran out to see where he was going out of both curiosity and annoyance.

"I don't need your protection!" She yelled after him, hoping that he heard her.

...

It was about four o'clock in the morning when a call from the station woke her up from he light nap on the couch in her living room. Her finished write-up from the arrest at the party was open on her computer, just the way she left it about an hour ago.

"Hello?" She answered sleepily into the speaker.

"It's Gorgon. I need you to come into the station. _Now_. The Joker won't talk to anyone except for you. He still doesn't know you're a detective, so I would keep that in mind as you interrogate him." Logan smiled, knowing that this would happen sooner or later. She couldn't wait to figure out what made him tick in a controlled environment, so she immediately started planning her interrogation strategy. This was going to be fun.

Logan didn't bother even changing out of her black yoga capris and loose gray tank. She just threw on a navy blue half-zip work out jacket and a pair of Nike running shoes as she sprinted to the kitchen to down some coffee. If she was going to be interrogating the Joker himself, then she needed to be awake. Logan quickly drank the whole mug as she got ready. She decided to let her hair back down since it still looked fine from the party, and the Joker might underestimate her more if she looked more feminine. Once that was done, she sprinted out the door with her keys and to her car. She threw it into drive and sped toward the MCU to meet Gordon.

Once she parked her car, Logan all but ran into the building that was now imprisoning the one person who had plagued her mind for the past week. Just as she opened the door, Gordon and two other officers joined her and directed her right to the holding cell. Apparently they were very eager to make sure he couldn't do any more damage.

"So he hasn't said anything at all? How do you know he will talk to me?" She asked one of the officers that was showing her the way.

"All he's been saying is 'I want to talk to _her_' over and over again. We can only image that he means you. It seems like he's developed some sort of obsession with you. Be careful." Logan rolled her eyes. She was tired of people telling her to be careful. First Batman, and now this officer. They should know by now that it's the Joker that needed to be careful around her. Not the other way around.

...

Logan took a deep breath as she waited for the officers to electronically unlock the interrogation room that the Joker was being contained it for the time being. She had been briefed with safety procedures before she went in, just in case. But she wasn't too worried. The Joker was handcuffed and didn't know how she could fight, so she was feeling pretty confident.

An angry beeping radiated from the locked door, signaling that it had been unlocked. Before entering, she took one last deep breath to let out any insecurities. She looked down at herself and analyzed her clothes. She was still wearing tight capris, her half-zip jacket, and running sneakers. Nothing about her clothes screamed "police officer", but she figured her cover wasn't going to last much longer. After a few seconds, Logan finally picked her chin up and cleared her mind. She needed to be on top of her game for this interrogation. With conviction, she firmly grabbed the door to the interrogation room and entered the dimly lit cell.

Logan couldn't quite make out the outline of the Joker's body, but she knew that he was there. The only source of light was one dingy lamp on the table that would separate her from the Joker.

"_Evening_, Comm-issioner," came the distorted voice from behind the table. Logan rolled her eyes before approaching the table. Apparently the Joker could see just as well as she could. Before sitting across from the criminal, Logan walked to the side of the wall and turned on the overhead lights.

"You know, this is the second time you've mistook me for someone I'm not. I'm a bit insulted." She said sarcastically while she studied the Joker's face for some sort of response. A deranged smile formed across his scarred cheeks as he rocked back and forth in his seat laughing.

"I knew you, ah, _missed_ me" he cackled in between his fit of laughs. She ignored his comment and proceeded to sit down in the open chair at the table. Instead of focusing on him, she nonchalantly wiped down the table with the sleeve of her jacket.

"You wanted me here, now what? I have a life you know. My boss won't be too happy if he found out I skipped work today to appease the whims of a psychopath." Logan decided to nonchalantly suggest that she had some sort of other job that had nothing do do with the police station to throw him off her scent.

"You, uh, know it's not _polite_ to lie." The Joker growled through his teeth, suddenly switching from psychotically happy to angry. She started to suspect that she should have to add "bipolar" to her profile for him.

"Who said that I was lying?" She tried to study the Joker's faced, but she wasn't quite getting a read on him.

"Let's play a _game_." The anger that had once been radiating off his body was soon replaced again with mischievousness. "Have you, ah, ever heard of two truths and a _lie_?" Logan began to wonder what the Joker's end-game was. He was obviously just playing with her. But why?

"Okay I'll bite. Are you going to start?" Logan always found that it was good to play along with whoever she was interrogating just to make them think that they had the upper hand. Usually when that happened people slip up, and that's when she got the most information.

"Ladies _first_." The Joker started to rock back and forth in his chair again in anticipation. Logan knew that he had something up his sleeve, and figured she would end up being the punch line to his joke. _What the hell is he getting at? I'm not going to play his games for much longer, _Logan thought to herself. She really didn't want the Joker to have any personal information about her, but she needed to make him comfortable around her somehow. Then he would definitely screw up and let loose some information he otherwise wouldn't have.

"Fine let me think. Ready?" The Joker signaled with his hand that she should continue, and Logan quickly thought of pointless facts that would appease the Joker's need to be in control of the conversation. "One: I have two brothers. Two: I don't talk to my parents anymore. Three: I did a triathlon last year." Those were innocent enough.

"You're, um, not _playing_ right. Those are too _boo-ring_. Here, I'll do one for you instead. Are you, uh, _ready?_" Logan rolled her eyes and focused on his face again. She knew that he was just fishing for an emotional response from her now. He was clearly looking for some sort of information on her, but she wasn't giving it to him.

"Where to start, where to start-ah." The Joker paused for a moment before continuing. Suddenly, his voice got even higher as he tried to imitate her own feminine voice. "One-ah: You're not _working_ right now. Two: You have two, uh, brothers. Three: You've lived in, uh, _Gotham_ your whole life-ah." Logan mulled over what he said and concluded that either he was really gullible or just playing with her again.

"Oops!" The Joker began to laugh cacophonously again. "Those were ALL _lies_! I guess I don't, uh, like to play by the _rules_ either gorgeous." _Shit_, Logan thought. He was definitely onto _her_ game.

"I don't think this is going anywhere." Logan decided that this interview was going nowhere, so she would have to start wrapping it up soon.

"Au contraire, toots. I think this little, uh, _therapy_ session is revealing your _darkest_ secrets-ah."

"What makes you think I have secrets Joker?"

"You know gorgeous, I've-ah learned not to _trust_ anyone with scars." Logan's hand instinctively touched the razor straight scar that ran down her cheek, and instantly regretted it. It was a small sign of insecurity. Something that she could never show in front of the Joker again.

"That's rich, especially coming from you." The Joker's tongue traced the scars that lined his grotesque lips as they curved into his famous Glasgow smile.

"I'll tell you _my_ story if you tell me _yours-_ah."

"I think you've seemed to have forgotten that you've already lied about that before."

"Who said that was a, uh, _lie_? Hm, well then I guess it's you're turn to share with the class-ah."

"What do you want to know?" Logan was sick of this back and forth. He was obviously too smart to let anything slip. Everything he said was calculated, and seemed to only make sense to him. Like his crimes, they seemed precisely premeditated only made sense to him. This conversation was doing no good. The sooner the Joker was in Arkham, the better. He was just stalling at this point.

"Your _name_." The Joker's voice seemed to drop ten octaves and suddenly got a bit more menacing.

"You see, I don't feel comfortable knowing that a psychotic criminal has access to my personal information." With that statement, Logan straightened out the wrinkles on her shirt and stood up to leave. There was nothing else she could get from him.

Logan expected some sort of sarcastic quip from the Joker as she turned to leave, but he didn't say anything. That should have tipped her off that something was going to happen, but the Joker acted too quickly. Somehow, he had managed to get the handcuffs off of his wrists and attacked Logan when she turned her back. His arms wrapped around her arms and waist as he tried to throw her back toward the middle of the room. Luckily, her survival instincts kicked in and overcame her sudden terror. Like the expert black-belt that she was, Logan swiftly threw her head back and collided with her attacker's. With surprising speed, she forcefully threw herself out of his embrace and kicked his legs out from underneath him. Dodging a few half-hazard punches from her assailant, she landed another round house kick to his side and a strong right hook onto his jaw. Instead of crying out in pain, all the Joker did was laugh to himself. Logan took this as an advantage and dove for the handcuffs that were laying on the ground. Within seconds, she had them back on his wrists right as Lt. Gordon and three other officers came barging into the interrogation room with their guns drawn.

Logan confidently sat herself back down in her chair to catch her breath. Half of her was glad that the Joker attacked her, and also wished that Batman was there to witness it. It was time for people to stop underestimating her, and that should have proved it.

"Get up, clown. You're getting moved to Arkham." One of the nervous officers said as he forcefully yanked the still-laughing Joker up by the collar and led him toward the door.

"See ya soon, _beautiful_!" The Joker yelled between his fits of laughter as the three officers led him out into the hallway.

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys, I really hope you like the way that this story is going! I'm pretty happy with it. Please review, I would love to hear what you guys want to happens, etc. Also, if you have any criticisms, that would be great too! I really want to improve my writing, so if you would help, that would be amazing! Thanks for reading :)**


	5. Preparing for the Worst

**A/N: Thanks to the people who added this story to their alerts! I would love to hear what you guys think so far! I'm trying to update as soon as possible, but I'm super busy this summer! Hopefully I'll have a new chapter up at least (if not more than) once a week. Anywho, thanks for reading!**

* * *

Logan was quickly ushered into Gordon's office away from the Joker as soon as he was brought back to his cell. His office was significantly cleaner than the last time she was here. The Joker clippings were filed away in a folder he had on his desk, and on the front was her typed report of his psychosis. She figured it would be a prime piece of evidence used in his trial. Though Logan wanted him to be locked in Blackgate Penitentiary, she knew that he belonged in Arkham.

Gordon finally walked into his office with a furrowed brow. "Johnson, I think you should take a few days off. You've had it rough the past week. Take a short vacation, the other officers can take care of the clown."

Normally, Logan would decline that offer, but she was both too physically and emotionally tired to deal with the Crime Prince of Gotham now. "I was just going to suggest the same thing. If you need me, I'm just a phone call away. Keep me updated." With that, she grabbed her things and practically ran out of Gordon's office. She would have made it to her car if it had not been to a seemingly solid body that she ran into as she turned the corner.

Logan's already-shook-up mind took a few seconds to register what happened before she fell on her back on the side walk. "My bad . . ." Logan whispered to herself before looking up.

A strong, deep voice snapped her out of her temporary shock. "Are you okay? Here let me help." She rubbed her blurry eyes and saw a large hand reaching toward her to help her up. Without looking up, she grabbed the helping hand and stood up while brushing off her dirty clothes.

"Thanks-" Logan finally looked up and realized who she had run into. "Bruce."

"Logan. I knew I recognized you from somewhere. I've been trying to get ahold of you since my fundraiser; you seem to be pretty busy."

"Yeah, the Joker does seem to like to complicate things. What can I do for you?" Logan tried to decipher Bruce's facial expressions, but he seemed to be unreadable.

A cocky smile flashed across Bruce's face as he studied the young profiler. He was impressed by how put together she was in a time of crisis. She could obviously hold her own. He didn't come across this trait often when dealing with the women in his life. Then again, he usually spent time with vapid, spoiled women. "Well I wanted to apologize for not being able to spend any time with you at the party. I also wanted to thank you somehow. How about dinner tonight? I'll pick you up around 8:00."

Logan had never realized how forward Bruce tended to be. He quickly took control of the conversation, but she didn't like that very much. "You know, I'm just looking forward to a nice relaxing night in my own condo tonight. Maybe some other night." She was not going to be one of the women that threw themselves at the billionaire playboy in front of her. She had more standards than that.

Bruce was surprised that she blatantly turned him down; he wasn't used to being rejected. He wasn't going to give up that easily though. She had caught his interest, and he couldn't stop thinking about her. "I can understand that. But you have to eat sometime. How about lunch tomorrow?"

Logan could tell that he was used to getting his own way and that he wasn't going to give up. "Lunch should be good. See you tomorrow Bruce." She smirked as she walked away, knowing that he was probably standing there confused.

She, of course, was right. For a few minutes after Logan left to go home, Bruce was rooted to the same spot. He had never met a woman he wanted to actually spend time getting to know on an intellectual level; besides Rachel obviously. He smiled and genuinely looked forward to their lunch date for the next day.

...

Logan barely got half an hour of solitude before her cell phone rang again. _Come on,_ she thought to herself.

Gordon's voice resonated through the receiver. She just thanked the universe that it wasn't Wayne again. He was really getting on her nerves. "Johnson, you might want to check 'Gotham Daily'. There's an interesting article about you." Luckily, her apartment complex kept every possible newspaper and gossip column on the first floor. And it was even more lucky that the workout room was conveniently located on the very same floor. She could already tell that the article was going to make her mad, so she changed into new workout clothes to blow off steam.

Logan took her time going down the stairs instead of the elevator. She assumed that whatever this gossip column said about her was going to be bad. And when she finally sifted through the day's newspapers, she knew the one Gordon was talking about.

The headline read "Prince of Gotham Seen With New Mystery Woman". Logan automatically rolled her eyes and scanned the article. The picture showed Wayne smiling down at her as she studied his face. This article was vague, but the problem was that it clearly had her face plastered on the front cover. _I hate publicity_, Logan growled. _Wayne's probably gloating _now_. _She definitely needed to blow off steam now.

She quickly made her way to the workout room and ran until her legs were jelly. It turned out to be about six miles. To get rid of the rest of her anger, she put on her boxing gloves and sparred with the punching bag; she landed strong and well placed kicks and punches until she stopped thinking about the article and Wayne. Sweat dripped off her body as she ran back up twenty flights of stairs to her condo to take the coldest shower she could.

After spending a long time in the shower, she got out and massaged her already-sore muscles with lotion. She changed into shorts and a vintage Metropolis PD baseball shirt and brewed herself some tea before collapsing on her couch to relax. By the time everything was done, it was already dark out.

A quick knocking on her bedroom window snapped her out of her short nap in her living room. Logan cautiously walked over to the source and found Batman perched on her fire-escape once again.

"At least you knocked this time . . ." She said sarcastically as she opened the window to see what the vigilante wanted.

"I told you to be careful around the Joker. Now he has more reason than ever to come after you." Batman's gravely voice echoes through her large apartment.

Logan crossed her arms in annoyance. "Are you kidding me? I'm sure you saw that I can take care of myself. Plus he's locked up tight in the MCU. I'm as safe as ever, no thanks to you."

"It's not like the Joker to go quietly. I don't doubt your ability to defend yourself, but the Joker is a new kind of villain. He's smart. Just be prepared for a break out attempt. Especially now that you've brought more attention to yourself." She was confused for a second, but after Batman dropped something on the floor, it all made sense. It was the front page of "Gotham Daily". The one with her face advertised on the front. If it had caught the attention of the Dark Knight himself, then a lot of other people (Joker included) must have seen it too. _Damn it_, she whispered to herself in anger. Before Logan could say anything else to the vigilante, he seemed to have disappeared.

...

The next morning was especially busy for Logan. She was meeting Wayne for lunch, and she knew that she had to have a clear mind so she worked out once again. After a hot shower, Logan decided to get ready for her meeting with 'Gotham's Prince'. She really wasn't looking forward to it. She hated being around people like him: egotistical playboys that couldn't carry on an intelligent conversation. He probably has never witnessed the horrors that go on in Gotham daily.

She finally curled her long hair and applied some makeup to make her look more awake. The outfit she chose were tight, dark skinny jeans, a pale yellow pin-tucked halter with a shallow v-neck, and a tailored white blazer. She finished off her outfit with her favorite ballet flats.

Last night, Wayne had called her to see if she would meet him at the restaurant, Fox Gardens at noon. He was going to be running late, so he couldn't pick her up. She figured she would show up a little late as well, as if not to seem too eager. If he was going to be late, then she had the right to be late too. After all, she didn't feel like waiting for Bruce Wayne.

Around 12:15, Logan started to walk over to the restaurant; especially since it was a nice fall day out in Gotham, and the posh restaurant was only a few blocks away.

Coincidentally right as Logan turned the corner to enter the restaurant, she ran into someone once again. _This really needs to stop happening_.

"You know Logan, we really need to stop meeting like this." Logan couldn't believe that she actually ran into _Wayne_ again. Of all people to run into, it had to be him. Twice.

"I better start paying more attention then." She muttered with a twinge of annoyance.

Arrogance spread across his face once again. "Not that I was complaining."

Logan rolled her eyes as they walked into the restaurant together, side by side. Logan was thankful that she didn't have to be kept waiting. Like a gentleman, Wayne pulled out the chair for her before he smoothy ease into his own seat and smirked. Logan quickly surveyed the restaurant.

"Looking for someone?" The playboy inquired, realizing what she was doing.

Logan quickly focused her attention on the well dressed man in front and smirked at him mockingly. "Yeah, you know I'm not a big fan of the paparazzi that seem to follow you around everywhere. Especially since our last encounter." Wayne smiled knowingly.

"You know, I was hoping that you didn't see that article. But I should have known you did," Wayne said, laughing as he watched Logan's eyes harden with annoyance.

"Believe me, I wish I hadn't seen it. I'm getting enough publicity for being the woman who put the Joker in jail, let alone this now." She just wanted to be able to do her job in peace. Hanging around Wayne obviously wan't helping.

"Speaking of which, I wanted to thank you for protecting my guests. That was very brave of you." Logan looked into his eyes to search for some hint of mockery, but he seemed completely sincere. _Maybe the Joker isn't the only one who is bipolar_. She thought. Wayne was acting really odd. That seemed to remind her of what happened at Dent's fundraiser. Her mind flashed back to when Wayne put Dent in a sleeper hold and put him in the closet. The detective in her decided that there was definitely something off about this man, and that he was possibly extremely dangerous.

"I was just doing my job," Logan said, refusing to accept his thanks. She didn't need his hospitality to know that she did a good job. Instead, she turned the conversation toward his actions at the party. "I guess that means I should thank you also. For illegally detaining Dent when the Joker came to get him." Her voice oozed with sarcasm. Anger and confusion flashed past his face but disappeared only seconds later. He obviously didn't want Logan to notice this lapse in his stoic demeanor.

"Nothing gets past you, does it?" Logan shook her head, waiting for his explantation. "I overheard your conversation with Harvey, and I knew he wouldn't go quietly. You know I'm very involved in Gotham politics, and would just hate it if he got hurt at my _own_ fundraiser. Can you imagine how my reputation would suffer if the focus of my party got killed in my penthouse. The media would have had a field day." Logan somehow didn't believe his idiotic excuse. It seemed way too rehearsed.

"I don't trust you Wayne, but I'll give you this one." He smirked confidently as the waiter came over to get their order. After he left, Wayne turned to fully face his 'date'.

"Bruce," he said, with a correctional tone in his voice. Logan's eyebrow raised in confusion, not knowing why he said his own name. "I told you to call me Bruce. 'Wayne' seems too harsh. After all, we seem to be learning more about each other; there's no need to be so informal." She rolled her eyes at his comment. She really didn't want to get to know Bruce, but there seemed to be no reason why she had to be overtly hostile. Even if she didn't trust him.

"Fine then. You can call me LJ; most people do."

Their conversation after that was generally more pleasant. They mostly talked about the corruption in Gotham. Surprisingly they both shared the same opinions on the what the police needs to do to clean up the streets. Though, it would take a lot more for LJ to be comfortable around him. She could tell that there was something he was hiding, and she hated when people lied to her.

About half an hour after their food was brought out, LJ's phone started to ring loudly. The caller ID let her know that it was Gordon. After all, he was pretty much the only one with her cell phone number.

"I have to take this," she said to Bruce as she quickly answered the call.

Gordon wasted no time getting to the point of his phone call. He often didn't even wait for her to answer. "Johnson, you need to go home now. The Joker escaped." Those words made her stomach drop. She thought this case was closed, but she should have listened to Batman's warning. Nothing with the Joker was ever simple.

"You've got to be kidding me," she said into the speaker. Her voice oozed with frustration. Bruce seemed to be fiddling with his pants, but Logan could tell he was listening to every word.

"That's not all. He made a pit stop in archives before he left. He grabbed your file." That was not what Logan wanted to hear. It was the absolute worst thing that could have happened.

"He wanted to be locked up in the MCU . . ." LJ whispered, realizing why arresting him was so easy. He needed to find out who was after him.

She could hear voices yelling in the background of the phone. "Just try to get somewhere safe. The Joker had help from the inside. Trust no one." She quickly shut her phone and started to gather her things. She slapped a fifty dollar bill next to her meal and turned to Bruce.

"I have to go, as I'm sure you heard. Thanks for the company." Bruce was thoroughly surprised by LJ's actions. The city's most dangerous criminal was after her and she didn't seem fazed. She was even paying for her own food. Most women he took on dates expected him to pay for them. Which he would have done anyways, but it was a weird change to see someone who didn't want him to.

"LJ, wait!" He said as he stopped her from leaving. "First, you don't have to pay for-" she stopped him before he could finish that statement.

"I believe that would make this meeting a date, and I don't intend to make it that." Bruce shook his head at her stubbornness, but didn't argue further. He knew she wouldn't change her mind.

"Fine then, if you won't let me pay for you, at least let me offer you a room in my penthouse. I can assure you that the security is top notch." LJ rolled her eyes again as she threw her purse over her shoulder.

"Contrary to what the gossip columns say, I don't know you at all Bruce. And from personal experience, I know that the Joker can get into your penthouse. So I'm going to have to definitely decline your offer. See you around." LJ briskly walked out of the restaurant, watching her back as she quickly jogged back to her condo.

Bruce slapped his hands on the table in frustration. Everything about this woman confused him. She was too strong for her own good. If only she agreed to let him protect her. If anything happened to her, he would feel guilty. He knew that he would have to keep a watchful eye on her as his alter-ego.

...

As LJ got back to her condo, she made a thorough sweep of her home. She checked all the windows and locks, and even checked to make sure no one was already hiding in her apartment. Everything was fully locked and she was the only one there. LJ sighed in relief and sat on her couch to think about how she would approach the next couple of days. LJ knew that she wasn't just going to sit and wait for the Joker to attack. She was going to be prepared.

...

As the new profiler was planning, Batman was watching her closely from the tall building across from her condo. Everything she did seemed to surprise him further. he didn't even think that was possible. It looked like she was hiding weapons in each of the rooms she had in her apartment. _Smart_, he whispered to himself. If anyone chased her throughout her home, she would be well armed.

Next, it looked like she was pulling out a large duffel bag from under her bed. Batman used his binoculars to zoom into her case. It held very high-tech cameras and monitors. LJ was bugging her own apartment. If anyone tried to get into her room, she would be the first to know.

After about an hour, Batman watch as LJ poured herself a glass of wine and collapsed on her couch. Though she didn't show it at their lunch date, he could tell she was anxious. having a psychotic stalker was obviously taking its toll on her.

...

Just as LJ had locked herself up in her apartment, her enemy locked himself in a grimy room in an abandoned warehouse on 52nd street. And instead of nursing a glass of wine, he was stalking about the empty room, reading the stolen file he had on Logan Johnson.

"What a hoot!" The criminal giggled hysterically to himself. "Thought you could, uh, _hide_ from me, Lo-gan? Well think again," he growled to himself as if LJ was right in front of him. The Joker paced the room slowly, thinking of the possibilities. He had to show her what real chaos looked like.

"Boss-" a burly henchman grunted as he burst into the Joker's warehouse. But he couldn't finish whatever he was going to say because the Joker expertly grabbed his gun and shot him straight in the face, laughing as the man collapsed on the floor.

"That's for, uh, _interrupting_ me," he growled as the life drained from his eyes.

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**A/N: So what did you guys think?**


	6. The Roof

**A/N: Okay random note, nobody's asked but I figured I would just clarify just in case. LJ is loosely based on a few people. If you watch Criminal Minds, I think she has an attitude like Prentiss (strong willed and smart). Then if you watch Chuck, I feel like she's also headstrong like Sarah. And then with the Joker, he's mostly from the Nolanverse, but I feel like some of the things he says will be more like the cartoons. Anywho, thanks for reading! And please tell me what you think about the characters! I don't want the Joker to be too OOC and I don't want LJ to be very Mary-Sue-like. **

* * *

The next couple of days were generally uneventful. Both the Batman and LJ knew that thought the Joker was chaotic, he wasn't stupid enough to do anything to her so quickly. That was the only thing that scared LJ: the fact that he could strike at any time he wanted, without warning. LJ wasn't fully convinced that he was even after her, but she refused to remain complacent. She eventually convinced Gordon to let her officially work in the MCU. But before she could fill her position, Dent wanted to hold a press conference to assure the citizens of Gotham that LJ was going to protect them to her fullest extent. The press conference was going to take place in two days; just enough time for LJ to contact Batman and set a trap for the Joker. This was the kind of event that was sure to draw him out of hiding.

It was a relatively cold night when LJ decided to camp out on top of the MCU, waiting patiently by the illuminated bat signal. She huddled close to the spotlight as she yanked the GCPD fleece closer to her body to retain her body heat. Normally, it took Batman a while to show up when Gordon turned on the beacon, but he seemed to arrive merely ten minutes after LJ turned the signal on. Unknown to LJ, he would have been there earlier, but he decided to stop a few mugging son the way to the roof of the MCU.

"I guess you're not as hard to reach as I though," Logan said sarcastically. Tonight must just be a quiet night for criminals.

"Last time I saw you, you made it pretty clear that you didn't want my help." Logan studied the source of the deep voice. Batman seemed more imposing when he was in her apartment, uninvited. Regardless, he was still incredibly menacing. She was almost more intimidated by him than the man who was probably trying to kill her. Batman's Kevlar suit made him almost unbearable, whereas the Joker had minimal protection besides the knives he carried.

"Normally I wouldn't want your help, but this is different. I know you would do anything to catch the Joker, and I want to give you that chance." This seemed to spark the vigilante's interest as he slowly walked over to the spotlight to face LJ in a more lit area of the roof..

"What do you have in mind?" Logan immediately described everything she could about the press conference. It was going to be held at City Hall once it got dark. LJ hoped that Batman would be able to use the darkness to his advantage. Especially since he mainly operated at night.

"You're aware that this plan to use yourself as bait is incredibly reckless. And that's putting it nicely." A confident laugh bubbled to LJ's lips. If she hadn't known better, she would have thought that he was trying to be funny. However, they both knew that this plan was very risky.

"If it helps catch the clown, them I'm willing to take the risk."

"You're not as indestructible as you think detective. But if you insist on holding the conference, I'll be there." Before LJ could say anything else, the vigilante had disappeared. She was used to this by now though and came to realize that he was a man of little words. This made her think about what he actually said to her. LJ always knew that her pride and stubbornness would lead to her downfall. They were both her worst qualities, and were also the most prominent. She ascribed her success to her strong-headed nature; which was directly related to how her Dad decided to raise her. Thoughts of her father bombarded her mind and left a bad taste in her mouth. Growing up was hard, and that was one reason she decided long ago to suppress her memories. Though, her hand betrayed her as she reflexively traced the scar on her face once again.

...

Once she got back to her apartment, LJ started to think of some questions the reporters were inevitably going to throw at her tomorrow night. They most likely had many questions, seeing as she had seemed to waltz into Gotham unannounced and turned into its hero overnight. Dent told her to be as honest as possible, without saying anything to reveal too much about their investigation. Though, he didn't know that she already had a lot of practice with the press. Part of her job in Metropolis was giving the news stations certain bits and pieces of information about their investigation to keep the citizens knowledgeable and safe. She knew how they worked and what kind of story they wanted. _This was going to be easy_, she thought to herself.

...

The next day went by quickly as LJ, Dent, and Gordon prepared for the press conference. They set up unparalleled security around the perimeter of City Hall, and also made sure that there were cops in the audience. Gordon and Dent would be on stage with LJ and some armed officers would line the stage, just in case. They seemed to have planned for everything, and that put LJ's mind at ease. If the Joker tried anything, they would be able to take him down without causing much chaos.

LJ watched as the reporters started to rush into the designated seating area from her spot right off-stage. She remained hidden behind a pillar, just in case a gutsy reporter decided to talk to her before the press conference.

Dent and Gordon both took the stage soon after everyone had found a seat. It seemed like the whole room was too crowded. People were even standing around the perimeter of the seating area. _We should have gotten somewhere bigger_, she thought. But then again, that would have been much harder to protect if something did happen.

LJ's thoughts were cut off as Dent tapped the microphone to get everybody's attention. _Let's get this show on the road_, she mused to herself. The room instantly got quiet, and the only sounds that broke that silence was the clicking of camera lenses. LJ looked down at her clothes to make sure she was presentable for the cameras. The last thing she wanted was to have a wardrobe malfunction in front of so many reporters. She was wearing a classic high-waisted black pencil skirt and a loose, deep green, sheer button-up-blouse. _I never had to worry about my clothes in Metropolis_ . . . she ranted. Normally, she just settled for dress pants and a fitted button up shirt. Then again, she wasn't in the spot light in Metropolis. If it was acceptable, she would wear her running gear everywhere, but sadly it wasn't.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for coming. Obviously this press conference's main purpose is to formerly introduce you to one of Gotham's new heros. A woman who even helped save my life a few nights ago. But before she comes on stage to answer your questions, I would like to share a few words. With this madman on the loose who calls himself "The Joker", Gotham is in a state of panic. But remember, we only fear what we do not understand. And that is why, I think, Logan Johnson is our saving grace. She has an uncanny ability to be able to do just that: understand. Armed with this knowledge, I am confident that the Joker Killings will come to an end in the near future. His reign of terror is coming to an end, and I can assure you of that. So without further ado, let me introduce you to the woman who is making this all possible: Lead Detective Logan Johnson."

LJ hung onto every word of Dent's eloquent speech, and reminded herself to thank him for the kind words. He was making her look better than she was, but she was confident that she would be able to catch the Joker, after all she had already done it once. At the end of his introduction, Dent turned to where LJ was standing and invited her on stage. Camera flashes started to explode in her direction as she walked up the small amount of steps onto the platform. She imagined that the reporters were vultures circling around her, thus making her a decaying carcass. She quickly shook that image out of her head, and made sure she had a clear head when she was addressing the crowd.

"First, I would like to thank Harvey for those kind words. It makes my job a lot easier when I know that people are so trusting in my abilities. As he said, I will be up here for as long as I need to be to answer all of your questions to the fullest extent. I believe in transparency, and I hope to give you as much information as I am allowed to. So without wasting time, how about we start in the front and just pass the microphone toward the back once you're asked your question."

As the reporters were getting organized with their questions, LJ took the time to scan the crowd for any familiar faces. Though, no greasepaint smeared face seemed to be in the crowd. Which could mean two things: either he wasn't going to do anything or he was biding his time elsewhere. Obviously LJ preferred the former.

"Miss Johnson, my name is Vicki Vale and I'm with _Gotham Gazette_. The Joker has been loose on this city for weeks, and the police haven't been able to apprehend him. What makes you think that you can do any better?" The blonde reporter's high pitched voice resounded with anger and annoyance. LJ had learned early on not to take reporter's angry questions personally. They were just doing their job, like her. Though she did wish they would learn to be a little more pleasant.

"I am merely here to lend my help to the already competent Gotham City Police Department. From the work that I've already done with them, it's obvious that we are capable of capturing the criminal known as the Joker. But the most important thing to remember is that he is just a man. He will make mistakes, and that's when we will be able to catch him."

The questions continued for what seemed like an hour, and LJ had to consciously remember not to slouch or frown. The scrutiny from the crowd seemed to diminish once a few of the first angry questions were out of the way. Now people just wanted to know about her credentials and what she planned to do in the future. Of course, she couldn't say too much or else the Joker would be aware of her plans. Once everyone seemed to be satisfied, Gordon took her place on stage to address the crowd.

"I would just like to thank you all for coming, and I hope that you use this information well. Know that it is not wise to taunt the Joker or threaten him in any way. It may make him retaliate more dangerously than usual. Thank you, that will be all." Gordon ushered LJ off the stage to safety as the cameras went off again. The two exchanged a confused look as they both wondered the same thing: _where was the Joker?_ They quickly shuffled into an unmarked cop car, wanting to regroup back at the police station. Something was definitely up, but they couldn't tell what it was yet.

LJ was completely surprised that they made it back to the station without any problems along the way. They weren't even bothered by left over reporters. It seemed like the calm before the storm. And there was definitely a storm coming.

...

The police station was buzzing with activity. Ever since her stint undercover, LJ tried to learn everyone's names and positions. If she were to be trusting them with evidence in her case, then she should at least know them a little bit. People immediately started to greet her and Gordon as they walked through the main center. LJ tried to repeat their names as they smiled and nodded at her. _Hastings, Brown, Lockley_. The list went on. She simply nodded back to them as she walked to the elevator with purpose.

Once the two officers got to the roof, they were immediately greeted by the masked vigilante. He had been waiting for them for several seconds.

"Any sign of him from your position?" LJ asked, breaking whatever silence there was on the city roof.

"No," Batman said simply. She could tell that he was just as perplexed as they were.

"Who knows what he's planning now. He could be anywhere. So where do we go from here?" Gordon seemed to voice all of their concerns. An atmosphere of helplessness seemed to spread over the roof as all three realized they would have to wait until he made the next move. Which definitely meant that someone would get hurt.

"I'm-" Batman started to speak but was instantly cutoff by the shrill sound of LJ's cell phone. The normally harmless sound suddenly put LJ's teeth on edge. Especially since the only two people who knew her cell number were on the roof with her. Only she didn't know the true identity of the vigilante. _Probably Wayne_. She thought, though the caller ID said "unknown".

LJ quickly excused herself from the two crime fighters.

"Hello?" LJ said inquisitively.

"Finally- the, uh, right number. You know, Lo-gan, the last person I called got _very _freaked out when I, uh, threatened them-ah." The high pitched, unmistakable voice of the Joker echoed through her speaker. The mere sound sent terrified shivers down her back.

"Is that why you're calling? To threaten me Joker?" LJ put a strong face of, but she was scared that her voice was going to betray her. She didn't know what about him put her so on edge, especially since she had faced equally as evil men in her career.

"I just _love_ it when you say my name Logan, or should I call you LJ now? Seeing as, uh, that's what your friends call you-ah." LJ's eyebrows raised in confusion. The Joker she profiled was calculating and often didn't say much, but something seemed to change. He was scattered, much like an excited child. Though, she didn't know what he would be excited about.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't aware that we were friends," LJ said sardonically.

"Hm, tough crowd. Friends know everything about each other LJ. And, uh, seeing as I know _intimate_ information about you, we're practically bestfriends. More-so than you and dear Bruce-y, eh?" LJ shuddered. She hadn't come to terms with the fact that he had her file yet, and probably never would; she was a very private person. Deciding to change the subject, she continued.

"So we missed you at the press conference. I was sure you were going to show. I guess your invitation got lost in the mail." An audible growl came from the other line. LJ knew that the Joker wanted to get a rise out of her. The only defense she had from that was her sarcasm.

"Oh you. You are too, uh, smart for your own good aren't you. But you see, I'm smarter."

"We'll see about that." Deep down LJ knew that he was extremely intelligent, and his insane personality made him even harder to catch. But he is just a man. A man who would slip up.

"I guess we will, won't we. You see, I like a _challenge_. And **you** are a toughie. But I will break you. You can, uh, count on tha**t**. Both you _and_ Batsy." So that's what he wanted. He wanted to take two of Gotham's "heros" and prove that they were just like him. But she wasn't going to let that happen.

"Like I said, we'll see about that. But I'm sure you didn't just call to taunt me. Especially since you know I'm tracing this call," LJ lied as she scanned the city as if some sort of sign would clue her in to where the Joker was hiding.

"You, uh, know how I feel about **liars**, L-Jayyy," he said ominously into the phone. _How did he know I'm lying? He's not clever enough to tell simply by my voice_ . . . she thought. "You know, you really should wear that color _green_ more often. It's my, uh, _favorite_." LJ's heart dropped. She should have known that he was watching her. She whipped her head around to scan the surrounding buildings, but it was too dark to actually see anything. LJ had enough with the taunting, so she exaggerated her movements, held the phone out, and flipped it closed in anger. She knew he would be watching as she furiously turned back toward Gordon and Batman. They were probably wondering where she went for so long. Before she could take the first step, her phone rang again: The Joker.

"What do you want now? Here to taunt me some more?" The annoyance in her voice was very apparent.

"You know toots, I **don't** like being, uh, hung up on. You see, I never got to tell you _why_ I called. Ready? 8th and Orchard. You'll find Harvey Dent there." If LJ's annoyance was apparent, then the Joker's anger was even more evident. _God, what had he done?_ She thought to herself, imagining the horrible things he could have done. He had been nice to her, and she was supposed to protect him.

"What. Did. You. Do?" She seethed through her teeth.

"You'll see," he said in a sing-songy voice. "Oh and LJ, if I were you, I would, uh, keep your phone on at all times. If you don't answer next time, I call-ah, I will blow up a school." LJ stood there, awestruck after he hung up. Tonight was going to be a long night.

* * *

**A/N: So what did you guys think? I really hope I'm doing the Joker character justice! Oh and just PS, LJ and Joker's banter is definitely not meant to be flirting. It's just kind of a battle of wits. **


	7. Mine

**Hey guys sorry for the long wait! So as a formal apology, I've made sure this is a really long chapter! This may be one of my favorite chapters :) Anywho, it has a lot of Joker in it, so I hope you like it!**

* * *

Both crime fighters stood awestruck in front of LJ as she retold her story. "He _called_ you?" Batman asked, confusion was laced within his words. The more LJ thought about it, the more absurd it seemed. She really needed to rework this profile if she wasn't going to be surprised anymore.

"That's not the point! He did something to Dent! We have to go **now**." LJ couldn't believe that they weren't leaving yet. If she had a chance to save Dent, then she had to do anything she could. As if on cue, Gordon looked toward Batman, sharing a knowing glare. _What's going on now?_, she thought to herself.

"What?" LJ asked the two secretive men.

"Do you trust me?" Batman asked in his gravely voice. LJ had to think. Did she actually trust him? She knew that he was passionate about helping Gotham, but there had to be something psychologically odd about a man who felt the need to dress up like a bat.

"For now, why?" But before Batman could answer, LJ felt herself being pulled into his Kevlar chest and launched off the side of MCU. The descent took merely several seconds, but it felt like an eternity. LJ gripped Batman's sides as tight as she could, but kept her eyes pried open.

The sudden impact of landing on the ground snapped her out of her shock. Batman's Kevlar suit seemed to take most of the fall, but it was still jolting.

"Really? _Really?_ You _had_ to do that?" LJ lightly punched Batman's arm, knowing that it would hurt her more than it would hurt him; at least it would get her angry point across.

"It was effective. Now, get in the Tumbler."

"The what?" LJ was confused until her eyes fell upon Batman's infamous black tank that was hurdling around the corner. Never in a million years, did she think she would be speeding through the corrupt streets of Gotham in Batman's tank, but it was happening. Needless to say it was something she wasn't going to forget.

...

"You actually listened to me. What changed?" Batman growled as he maneuvered through the crowded streets. They were almost to the address that the Joker gave LJ.

"Dent could be in danger. I think that trumps any discomfort I'm feeling now." She swore that she could almost hear the caped crusader chuckle from the other side of the tank.

"Good." That was the extent of any conversation that took place as they drove through Gotham. A drive that typically would have taken about ten minutes to get across the city took merely five minutes with Batman's reckless driving.

"This has got to be it!" LJ hissed as an abandoned house came into view. "Pull over here!" She quickly grabbed for her gun, just in case and waited for the car to come to a stop. Sirens from the remaining police force were going off in the far distance, and she knew that it would take them a while to get here. In any other situation, she would have waited for back up, but this was a possible hostage situation, and she couldn't risk it.

LJ announced herself at the door right before forcefully kicking the rotting door off its hinges. She drew her weapon out in front of her for protection, just in case and held it up with a heavy duty flashlight to light the dark house. It seemed like nobody had been in here for a long time. Dust had settled on all of the decrepit furniture, but there seemed to be a disturbance leading to a closed door in the back. By process of elimination, LJ assumed that it would the the kitchen. She surveyed the door, and nodded to Batman, who had followed her into the house. He nodded back in reassurance, and she proceeded to kick down that door like she had the last. What she saw made her let out an almost inaudible gasp. Two men were sitting at the kitchen table, slumped over. The table was littered with cards as if they had been in the middle of a game. She would have thought they might had been, except for the fact that the cards were all Joker cards. _He was here._ Sick Glasgow Smiles were smeared across their faces with blood and it seemed like their licenses were pinned to their chests.

"Check the names," Batman's gravelly voice said, interrupting her thoughts.

LJ leaned over and reached out a gloved hand. She lifted up one of the man's arms to get a closer look.

"Patrick _Harvey_..." _Can't be a coincidence..._ She thought to herself as she moved to the other body. "Richard _Dent._"

"Harvey Dent." Came the familiar voice of Lieutenant Gordon from behind the broken door. She hadn't realized that he had arrived, she was too engrossed in her work to notice. Next time she would have to be more vigilant. For all she knew, the next time that someone surprised her, it would be the Joker.

Batman turned to Gordon as LJ was taking quick pictures of the gruesome scene to include in her investigations. _He definitely has a knack for theatricality..._

"I need ten minutes with the scene before your men contaminate it." LJ glanced over and saw a scowl cross Detective Ramirez's face. She could tell that Ramirez didn't like the Batman, but she wasn't sure why.

"_Us_ contaminate it? It's because of you that these guys are dead in the first place-" _Hmm blaming the Batman for the Joker's sick work. She definitely has something against him._ LJ always got mixed feelings when she worked with Ramirez. Her gut instincts seemed to tell her not to trust the Detective, but she couldn't figure out why.

Gordon defused the situation as Batman moved past the bodies to the empty wall behind them. He traced his hand around a bullet shaped hole in the sheet rock, and rummaged through his utility belt. LJ wasn't quite sure what he was looking for, but it seemed like he found it. Before she could tell what it was, the shrill ringing of her cell phone went off. Everyone in the cramped room went silent. It seemed like word had spread that the Joker had made a personal call to LJ. She made eye contact with both Batman and Gordon, and their facial expressions seemed to mirror each other. Panic.

Gordon waved the remaining officers out of the room. Soon, only the three of them were in the room, forming a circle around the ringing phone. LJ quickly put the phone on speaker and brought her finger to her mouth to let her comrades know to be quiet. She wanted them to hear the call, but didn't want the Joker to know that they were listening.

"Hello?"

"Oh L-Jayyy how, uh, _good_ it is to hear your voice again. Say, did you miss me?" The Joker's ominous voice echoed through the empty room as the three exchanged knowing looks. LJ didn't say anything. "You know its, uh, _rude_ not to answer my questions-ah! Anyways, have you gotten a chance to look at the, ah, **present** I left you?"

"Are you talking about the two dead bodies you left behind? I wouldn't really call that a present."

"Oh goodie, you _did_ get it! I'm so happy. That's not all I left you! Didn't you, uh, get to examine them _further_?" LJ slowly looked at the bodies one more time. She set her phone down on an empty spot on the table, the call was still on speaker phone. It seemed like the clown on the other end of the call was humming some haunting tune as it echoed through the room once more. LJ didn't need to look very hard to find what the Joker was talking about. Underneath a beer bottle rested a fresh copy of tomorrow's newspaper. It was open to the Obituaries. The heading read "Mayor Anthony Garcia, aged 40, _Dedicated Public Servant_". The first paragraph detailing his death was outlined, and "xoxo" was scrawled next to it in red ink. The rest of the article was obscured by a series of scribbled "HA HA"s in heavy black pen. Lastly, the picture of Garcia was vandalized. His eyes were covered in black ink and a red Joker smile was drawn over his cheeks.

"You've given us your next target..." she breathed as she inspected the Obituary column.

Instead of replying, horrifying laughter came from the Joker's end of the call. Her eyes darted around the room, unable to suppress the shivers that ran down her back. It was almost as it the Joker was in that small room with them.

"Oh and, uh, say hi to Gordy and the Bat for me. I'll see you **soon**." An aggravated sigh escaped from LJ's lips as she stared at her now black phone. He had been watching them again. _He's got eyes everywhere!_ Her subconscious was right. The Joker was always two steps ahead of them: he knew what they were going to to and when they were doing it. And he was always there to watch.

"Damn it!" She growled as she passed the newspaper to Gordon. Batman seemed to have gone back to the wall he had been inspecting earlier.

"Go home Johnson. If the Joker is going to make good on his threat, we all better get some sleep tonight. Tomorrow is going to be a long day."

...

Batman dropped LJ off near her condo once again, seeing as she didn't have her car with her. She didn't really like accepting rides from the vigilante, especially since he was supposed to be being hunted by her police force. That, and she didn't like relying on his help. But it was late, she was stressed, and she was too tired to argue.

"Be careful," the Batman growled as she swung her legs out of the tank.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. Thanks for the advice," she hissed sardonically. She knew that she should be a little more polite toward him, but she was too frustrated to worry about manners.

As soon as she got to her room, LJ stripped off her uncomfortable heels and skirt. Instead, she traded them for her favorite yoga pants and worn out LAPD crew neck sweatshirt. Before putting her new clothes on, she started to run a hot bath. If anything was going to help her think, a warm bath was going to be it. After throwing the dirty clothes on the floor LJ quickly inspected the cameras that she had set up around her home. The recordings didn't reveal anything out of the ordinary. Everything seemed normal.

With a sigh she grabbed her notebook and finished undressing before sinking into the scalding water. Before doing anything, she just lay there, immersed in the hot water, clearing her mind. After she ran out of breath, she returned to the surface and threw her clean, wet hair into a high bun on top of her head. She grabbed a spare towel and dried off her arms before reaching for a bath-side table to write down her thoughts. The small table was on wheels so it could easily move right next to the bath and hover over the surface of the water without getting anything wet. On the table, she had her file on the Joker and an empty notebook and pen. The relaxing suds of the bath helped her think through her whole day as she summarized everything new she learned about her adversary.

_Always watching_. Was the first thing she wrote, suddenly feeling very paranoid. _Maybe taking a bath wasn't the smartest idea_, she thought to herself. Realizing how vulnerable it made her feel, LJ pushed the table away and quickly hopped out of the tub and dried herself off. She threw on the new comfortable outfit she had picked out earlier, shook out her hair, and drained the tub. Instead, she relocated to her living room and finished her notes. She now knew for sure that he was going to try to kill the Mayor at the tribute to Commissioner Loeb tomorrow, but she didn't know _how_ he was going to do it. That was beyond her profiler abilities. Something about the Joker made him more unpredictable than usual, and that didn't sit well with her.

_Ring ring_. Her phone shrilled from right in front of her. The sudden noise made her heart skip a beat. _Please be Gordon, or even Wayne. Anyone but him._ She repeated to herself, hoping the universe was in a giving mood.

"Hello, _beautiful!_" Came _his _sing-songy voice from the phone. _Damn it!_

"What do you want now. Are you calling to tell me who you're going to kill _next_ Friday?"

"I just _knew_ you would be fun LJ! From the, uh, _moment_ I saw you."

"Yeah!" LJ said, faking enthusiasm. "When you had your goon shoot me, right? That moment? Or when I punched you in the face?"

Laughter emanated from her phone once again. LJ was tempted to hang up again, but she knew he would just call back. Maybe this time he would accidentally let something slip about his plan to kill the Mayor.

"See what I mean! You always, uh, keep me on my toes_. _No, no, no. Right before that-ah."

"So how about you tell me how you're going to attempt to kill the Mayor tomorrow?" LJ quickly changed the subject, knowing that he was going nowhere.

"Who said anything about an, uh, _attempt_? I'm going to **kill** the Mayor. You can count on that."

"I'm going to stop you."

"When I, ah, **say** I'm going to do something, I do it. You should know that. Your notes do, uh, say 'man of his word'." LJ's blood turned cold as she leapt to her feet. The only copy she had of her notes had been in her home the whole day. He had been in her apartment. She quickly scanned the room, but didn't see any hint of him. LJ quickly reached for one of the knives she hid around her apartment earlier that week and held it close to her chest for comfort.

"Promising to do something is different that _actually_ doing it," LJ breathed, trying to keep her voice steady.

"You know, I'm _flattered _that you were, uh, thinking about me in the bath." LJ refused to think about how he knew that. She had little time to think anyways before he continued.

"Ah-ah-ah Lo-gan. I would, uh, put the knife down if I were you. We don't want you to hurt yourself now, do we?" Her breathing became ragged as her stomach flipped in fear. LJ slowly spun around once again, looking for any sign of green or purple, but there was nothing. Moments later, all the lights in her apartment started to flicker and the phone line went dead. She looked at her phone, and tried to call 911, but the phone didn't seem to be getting any service. _Why didn't I get a landline? _She said, kicking herself. Soon, her whole apartment was shrouded in darkness as the last of her lights flashed off.

LJ knew that there were two options. Either she could scale the fire exit out her bedroom window or try to run to the elevator. At this point, all she could do was try to get out of her apartment. _This was supposed to be where I was most safe! What happened?_ _Shit! Pull it together Johnson, you can do this. Stop being such a whimp. This isn't you. _She knew that her subconscious was right. She wasn't going to go without a fight, after all she had been preparing for this for a week. She just had to be smart now.

A tingling sensation snapped her out of her internal battle. Something was brushing across the back of her arm. Without hesitation, LJ fiercely turned and punched the air behind her, partially expecting her fist to collide with the Joker's face, but nothing was there. An echo of his laugh spread throughout her apartment. He was taunting her, like a cat playing with its food before eating it.

Without making any more noise, LJ quickly dropped to the floor behind her couch. She silently edged toward the wall separating her living room and kitchen for more cover. She held the knife tightly and felt her knuckles turn white. She would have to come up with a plan as quickly as possible.

"Where'd ya' go Lo-gan? I **don't** like losing what's _mine_." Before her mind could even comprehend what he was saying, LJ was on the move again. Luckily she was wearing dark clothes to blend into the darkness of her apartment. She crawled into her kitchen and pushed her back as close to the marble island as possible as she regrouped her thoughts. Since her kitchen was in the center of her apartment, it was the best place to keep lookout. Plus there was equal distance between her bedroom and the front door. So both of her escape options were open. _Surely he didn't come alone..._ she reasoned, thinking that the front door was out of the running. Yet again, she was on the 21st floor, and it would be extremely dangerous to run down the fire escape. _Hmm, maybe I can go up instead of down. He wouldn't expect that. I can run up to the roof and wait him out._ Climbing up four flights of stairs on the outside of her building seemed much more safe than scaling down 21 flights. Now she just needed to get to her bedroom without getting caught.

Taking a deep breath, LJ slowly began to stand up to survey the rooms around her. Without warning, she suddenly felt a hand on her back and neck forcing her upper body to slam into the marble counter top. She tried to use the knife in her hand against her assailant, but he seemed to have complete control over her movements. She was stuck between his solid body and the counter. The assailant held her bent over the counter with one hand on her shoulders, and the other hand grasping her knife-wielding wrist.

"I **told** you to _dro-P_ the knife LJ." The Joker leaned into her, making LJ wince as her hips dug painfully into the marble countertop. She could feel his rough skin brush against her ear as he leaned over to threaten her.

"How did you get into my apartment?" She growled defiantly as she held onto her only protection.

"Shouldn't you, uh, be more worried for what I'll, ah, do now that I'm _here_?" LJ felt his hot breath burn against her cheek and the back of her neck. _Disgusting_, she thought to herself. His threats made her body quiver in fear. She had to get out of here. A plan started to form in her chaotic thoughts, and she waited for the best opportunity to put it into action.

The Joker's grip around her wrist tightened painfully as her arm was pushed against the counter. She quickly dropped the knife, knowing that she could get another one from hiding once she somehow got out of the Joker's painful embrace.

"Good girl. Though I'm a, uh, fan of this position, I'm going to let you up. **Stop** squirming." Without letting go of her one wrist, the Joker skillfully wrapped his arm around her waist and stood her up to face him.

This was the closest she had ever been to the clown, and she hoped this was the last time she was this close. The next time she would allow this to happen was when she was personally taking him to Blackgate Prison, where he deserved to be. Not Arkham Asylum.

Though LJ was tall for a woman, the Joker was taller. He looked down at her threateningly and possessively. He opened his scarred mouth to say something, but LJ didn't let him get the chance. She reached behind her back with her free hand and grasped a plate she had left out on the counter and smashed it on the side of his head. In his stupor, she struggled out of his grasp and kneed him in the groin. As he double over she gave him one last punch in the gut and slammed his head in the counter. She knew it wasn't enough to knock him out, but all she needed was him to be confused. Without missing a beat, LJ ran toward the front door, and unlocked it. She looked back at the kitchen and saw that the Joker was still on the ground.

Instead of running toward the elevator, she slammed the door to make the Joker think she ran into the hallway and instead ducked into the bedroom right next to her front door and silently opened the window for later use. She hid in the shadows, listening next to the door to see what the Joker was doing. She could hear a groan, and then a laugh from the kitchen. A small light flashed and illuminated his makeup-smeared face. He had his phone out, and seemed to be calling one of his goons. Though they didn't seem to be picking up.

"It, uh, seems like _She_ has made a run for it. Wait at the ground floor. I'm coming down." The Joker's voice seemed extra low and frantic. She could tell he was in some sort of pain because his breath was labored and he let out a angry grunt as he stood up and lumbered toward the askew door.

As soon as the door closed, LJ ran frantically to her closet. Luckily, she was taught to be both prepared ant paranoid. She had a backpack already packed with clothes and other necessary items, so she would never have to come back to her apartment. It was too dangerous at the moment, and she needed to escape fast. After one last look around her apartment, she was out the window and on the rickety stairs leading to the roof. Before beginning her ascent, she quietly shut her window just in case the Joker came back. It took less than a minute to climb all the way to the roof and collapse against one of the ledges. Though her heart began to calm down, she wasn't done yet. She had to figure out how to get down from the roof.

Before doing anything, LJ knew she had to form a plan, so she started rifling through her backpack. She pulled out a new pair of running shoes and slid them on, seeing as she wasn't wearing any. Running on the gravel of the roof would prove to be extremely painful without any kind of shoe anyways. Next she pulled out the small, portable laptop that she kept for emergency purposes like these. She quickly signed in and opened the feeds to her security cameras she had installed within her former apartment. She clicked through her rooms and found the Joker pacing through her bedroom. His shoulders were haunched over in anger. If that didn't clue her into how he was feeling, then the next scene would. Without audio, she couldn't tell what he was saying, but he was definitely yelling at his goon. The man in the clown mask nodded, as if he received some sort of order from the Joker as he stalked down the stairs to the ground level. The Joker, however, seemed to stay in her apartment. He started to rifle through her drawers, yanking them out of their sockets and spewing its contents on the floor. One of the objects that fell out of the drawers happened to be one of the knives that she had hidden earlier. Without hesitation, he picked it up, inspected it, and flung it violently toward the wall. It spun wildly and then embedded itself deeply in the wall.

The Joker continued to stalk through her apartment, looking for something to pique his interest, but seemed to find nothing. Before leaving, he stuffed her notes and folder about him under his arm and strutted out of her apartment.

With a sigh of relief, LJ put all of the equipment back into her pack and examined the perimeter of the roof. There was one building that was close enough to jump onto, but it was risky. That would have to be her last option if she needed one. Of course, going back to the elevator or down the fire escape was always another option. But now she was blind to everything that the Joker was doing. For all she knew, he had control of the cameras in her apartment building and would be alerted if she ever entered it again.

A subtle buzzing returned her attention to her backpack. It seemed to be coming from one of the pockets on the side. _My cell phone_. She had forgotten she had slipped that in there when she was running. It was working again, and she had a feeling she knew who it was.

"So breaking into my home wasn't enough for you? You need to taunt me too?" LJ hissed into the phone. Every syllable oozed with anger and frustration. It wasn't fair that he could make her feel so unsafe in the one place she felt safest in this crime-infested city. She wasn't going to stop until _He_ was in jail for good.

"W-what? LJ what are you talking about? Did something happen?" A concerned voice came from the other line. Confusion washed over her for a second as she checked the caller ID. _Bruce Wayne_. Of course.

"Shit, my bad. I'm just . . . I'm just having a really bad day." She paused, wondering whether or not she should actually tell him the truth. _Why the hell not?_

"Did something happen with the Joker? I saw on the news . . ."

"Yeah the double homicide. Not that, but afterwards. He was in my house Bruce. I got away though. I'm on my roof now. I really have to go. I have to call Gordon or someone."

"Look, I'll come-"

"NO!" LJ practically yelled into her phone. "No, don't do that. For all I know the Joker is still here. I'll call the police. Gordon will handle it. And don't you dare offer me a room in your penthouse again, I stand by what I said before. Bye Bruce, sorry to include you in this." She hung up before he could say anything in protest. LJ did not want to have to worry about another one of her citizens getting entangled in the Joker's game. Especially an idiotic, arrogant billionaire.

...

Bruce slammed his phone against the table top in the bat cave in anger. _Why can't she just accept my help?_ He yelled to himself. Without hesitation, he ran to get changed into his Kevlar suit. If LJ wasn't going to let him help as Bruce Wayne, then he would make her cooperate as Batman.

...

LJ looked down at her phone, sifting through her old Metropolis contacts to find Gordon's personal number. She didn't know if she wanted to include the police yet. The Joker might even have people on the inside of the police department.

Before calling her boss, LJ surveyed the perimeter once again. She stared at the closest building. It was another apartment building, maybe five feet away. Only an alleyway separated the two buildings at street level. The other building was a little shorter than this one, so it made it easier if she were to jump. If she took a running head start, she was almost positive that she would make it. But with the heavy backpack, she was sure it would be a little tougher. _I can always throw it first and then jump..._ That was true, but she didn't want to risk breaking anything. Then again, she could always replace anything in her bag. She couldn't replace her life.

Adrenaline coursed through her veins as she contemplated the jump. She had always hated heights. To think, she walked to the other side of the roof. From here, she felt like she could definitely make it if she ran fast enough.

A slamming noise from the other side of the roof near where she was going to jump snapped her out of her trance. Out from the roof entrance walked the Joker. _Of course_. _I just can't catch a break..._ She hissed to herself.

"You." The Joker growled as he pointed at her. He seemed beyond angry to say anything else. LJ instantly bent her knees in a defensive stance, gripping the backpack and prepared to use it as a weapon if she needed to. But before she could act, something on the building behind the Joker caught her eye. _The Batman_. They made eye contact, as he tried to figure out what was happening on her roof. He gave her a nod, as if to show that he was there to help. Without hesitation, Logan started running as fast as she could. Right in the Joker's direction. She made sure there was enough space between the two of them so that he wouldn't be able to grab her as she ran by.

Luckily, the Joker seemed to have no idea what she was doing, so she had the element of surprise on her side. He seemed to realize that she was getting away too late. He tried to reach out for her waist, but he wasn't close enough. He took his first step as she hurdled onto the ledge and took a huge leap toward Batman on the other roof. The whole scene seemed to go in slow motion. Adrenaline pulsed through her blood as she jumped off of the ledge. There was literally nothing keeping her from falling to a bloody death, but that fear only lasted a couple milliseconds before she latched onto Batman's sturdy arm. He held onto her backpack, keeping her from falling backwards to her death.

LJ brought her hands to the ground, as if to make sure that it was actually there. She struggled to breath as she slowly stood up and held onto Batman's Kevlar suit for balance. Once sturdy, she muttered out what was supposed to be a "thanks", but it didn't quite come out right. So instead, she looked back from where she came from. Right on the edge stood the Joker with hunched shoulders and clenched fists. He was staring straight into LJ's eyes, and she could see that he was twitching with rage.

"I **will** take what's _mine," _he growled almost inaudibly before stalking back to the elevator. "I'm a man of my word-ah."

LJ's knees gave out as she turned back toward Batman. He harshly grabbed her from under her arms to steady her.

"You'll be alright. I got you." LJ nodded, as if to thank him once again, but the words just wouldn't come out right.

She took a couple deep breaths to calm her nerves, refusing to look like a babbling idiot. "I could have made the jump without you. Just for the record. But thanks anyways." She gave him a pathetic smile, as she turned and dragged him toward the stairs. She wanted to make sure he didn't make her jump off the roof again like earlier. LJ definitely wan't going to be jumping off anything high anytime soon.

"Still won't accept that you need my help?" Batman smirked, astonished by her stubbornness.

"I don't need anything."

"You remind me of someone I know." Batman said out loud. Though he seemed to be surprised that he actually said that to her. _Me_, he thought to himself, refusing to admit it.

* * *

**So what did you think? P.S. I would just like to thank everyone who has reviewed/ put my story on their alerts! It means a lot to me! **


	8. Spinning

**Okay so this chapter is kinda shorter than what I normally post, but it just seemed like a logical place to stop the story. Don't worry, I have a much longer chapter in mind for the next one :) To all my new readers, reviewers, and to everyone who put my story on their favorites/alerts list, THANK YOU! Haha it always brightens my day. Special shout outs to Silent, xX6Jenny-Bean9Xx, Avis11, Evesgreenleaf, and Operating Under a Codename! Your reviews made my day! And to answer some of your questions about whether or not this is a Bruce/OC fic or Joker/OC, I haven't really decided. It's definitely not going to be romantic between the Joker and LJ (But as you can already tell it's kind of a one sided obsession on the Joker's part). Tell me what you guys think about a possible relationship between LJ and another character in your reviews! Sorry about the long note :/ And thanks for reading!**

* * *

"I need you to take me to the MCU." LJ didn't waste any time as Batman led her to the Tumbler again. She didn't want to go anywhere with Batman if she didn't need to. And Gordon needs to know what happened anyways.

LJ studied Batman's face as he stared at the road in front of him. His jaw seemed to clench in frustration, but he didn't say anything for a few minutes, as if he was thinking hard.

"You can't go back to your apartment." His gravelly voice ricocheted through the tank as Logan rolled her eyes.

"Yeah I know that. I'm going to stay at the MCU, I have a couch in my office." Batman didn't say anything in protest, but she could tell that he didn't think she should stay there.

"Look," she continued. "Where else are you going to take me? Right now, the best place for me to be is the MCU. You need to be out there saving damsels in distress and getting cats out of trees. Don't worry about the Joker tonight. We already know where he'll be tomorrow." LJ's argument seemed to make Batman's decision easier. He nodded and unclenched his jaw.

Minutes passes by in complete silence before Batman said anything. "I've never liked cats very much," Batman said, breaking the silence. LJ didn't know whether it was the stress of the night getting to her, or how absurd Batman sounded, but she suddenly burst into laughter. Though the masked vigilante didn't laugh along with her, LJ could have sworn she caught him smirking.

As the tank approached the MCU, Batman cut her laughter off. "I know you resent me for saying this, but be careful. Sure you can take care of yourself, but that doesn't mean you can't get hurt."

"I know I can be stubborn sometimes, so I just want you to know how grateful I am that you were there tonight." LJ grimaced as she thought of the abduction attempt. She masked her anxiety with a nervous laugh and tried to lighten the mood. "And if you ever mention this conversation, I will deny it ever happened." She gave Batman a weak smile before continuing. "Just . . . Thanks. Gotham is lucky to have you."

With that, LJ stumbled out of the tank and into the MCU as quickly as possible. She had a lot to do before the funeral procession tomorrow.

...

"LJ, I don't think you should come to the funeral tomorrow. We already know the Joker will be there, and I'm not risking your safety again," Gordon said with a stoic tone after she explained what had happened.

"No way in hell Gordon. I have more motivation than ever to catch the clown now. I've worked too hard to be taken out of the game. We're going to get him soon. I can feel it." Gordon ran his hand through his hair in frustration. He knew she was right. Even though her boss didn't say anything, LJ knew she had won the argument. Without waiting any longer, LJ began to plan their defensive strategy before Gordon could change his mind.

...

The time for the funeral came quicker than LJ would have liked. Luckily, she had a pair of black dress pants in her backpack. She quickly took a shower and fixed her hair and makeup in the gym bathroom in the basement of the MCU. Fortunately, nobody else was there to ask her why she was there so early. Gordon decided that it would be better to keep her story out of the news for the time-being. He didn't want Gotham's new hero to look vulnerable, especially right after the deaths of so many public figures.

Once dressed, LJ went upstairs to meet the others who were going to be standing on the stage with the Mayor as he gave his speech. From the force, it would just be her and Gordon and a couple of uniforms. They each would be armed, wearing bullet-proof vests, and hooked up to a communication system that connected them to the snipers on the roofs. LJ rode to the procession in Gordon's car, since he insisted she did for some unknown reason to her. Gordon didn't want the Joker getting his painted hands on her before the funeral. The ride there was chaotic because there were so many people in the streets waiting to pay their last respects to Commissioner Loeb. But they eventually made it through and assembled themselves on either side of the elevated podium.

LJ looked out into the sea of people, half expecting to see the Joker's signature purple suit, but everyone was dressed in mournful-black. A voice from the coms-unit in her ear snapped her out of her thoughts. It was a sniper from the roof saying that it was all clear. She wished they had picked a better spot to hold the procession. There were way too many windows above them. Though the rooms were evacuated, it still made her uneasy.

As the marching band approached, the street was filled with a haunting funeral ballad. Once people filled their seats, the Mayor stepped up to the podium to begin his speech. LJ barely paid attention, instead, she kept scanning the crowd for the Joker.

The Mayor was able to get through his speech easily, with no disturbances. LJ thought the Joker would have attacked sooner. _Why did he wait? What __made__ him wait?_ _The obituary definitely said he was shot during his speech. _ All there was left was the Honor Guard's routine. With guns. _Guns. Of course!_ LJ's eyes immediately shot toward the line of identical officers with weapons. She inspected each face from afar, though she didn't even see an inch of greasepaint. The guards turned in formation, coincidentally turning right toward the podium. And that's when it happened. LJ saw the scars. _It's him_. She made eye contact with the man and shivers went down her back as he winked at her. It was definitely him.

LJ instinctively turned toward the man she was supposed to be protecting, and tackled him as a number of things happened. All three people on the podium hit the ground. Gun shots. Pandemonium.

LJ's mind was spinning as she pushed herself up. The Mayor was also stirring; he was safe. Gordon, however, was not. Before she could reach him to check his pulse, Detective Stevens was pulling her off the stage, and Gordon was being transferred to an ambulance.

"Let me go," she hissed angrily though her teeth. If she wasn't going to see how Gordon was, then she was definitely going after the Joker.

She scanned the crowd once again, but she knew what she was looking for this time. Almost instantly, she met the cold glare of the Joker again. There were panicked civilians between the two of them, so neither of them could really do anything. LJ didn't dare break eye contact with him, just in case. She didn't want to lost him in the crowd. LJ took a decisive step toward him as he raised his empty hand, pointing to her with his index and middle fingers, his thumb sticking perpendicular to the other fingers. She cocked her head in confusion, but realized that it was a childish representation of a gun. _He's threatening me_. That didn't stop LJ from reaching behind her for her own real gun, without taking her eyes from him. He shook his head and smiled sinisterly as he pulled the trigger of his fake gun.

A very real shot rang out from behind her and a very real, unimaginably painful stabbing sensation ripped through her bicep. The force of the shot knocked her forward as she clenched her teeth to stop her from crying out. Her hand instinctively grabbed onto the source of the pain. Blood gushed through her fingers as she held on tighter. The gaping wound had already started to throb and swell. her breathing was ragged. Any movement made her arm explode with pain. She tried to ignore it as she looked up to find the Joker in the same spot as before. A mischievous smile spread across his face as he bowed slightly, as if saying _"That's what you get." _He blew a kiss before turning and sauntering away.

_Why can't anyone else stop him?_ LJ yelled in her mind furiously. She looked around and easily got her answer. People were staring at her. She was the distraction. And all the other officers were chasing after her shooter.

LJ could feel her mind starting to blur as the movements of the people around her slowed. The pain wasn't worse than anything she was used to, but the blood loss was making her body betray her mind and make her see stars. She looked around wildly for help and sighed in relief as she saw two medics with a stretcher running toward her. _Just breath. You've gotten shot before. This is no different._ LJ kept repeating that to herself to make sure she didn't black out before she got into the ambulance. Though, she did keep her eyes closed to stop the external stimuli from making her head hurt more. She could tell that people were taking her picture. The flashes from the camera still broke through the walls of her eyelids and made her head burst in more stabbing pain.

"Detective Johnson, what happened?" One of the EMT's asked her as another pried her hand away from her wound.

"Shot. I was shot." And that's when everything went dark.

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**Sorry about the kind-of-cliff-hanger. And don't worry, you'll be seeing a lot more of the Joker next chapter! Please review and tell me what you think! I really want to improve my story as best as I can :)**


	9. Experiments

**A/N: Hey guys, as promised, here's a longer chapter with a lot of you-know-who in it! I'm super motivated for this story, especially since the new Batman movie is coming out in 10 days, so hopefully I'll have more updates soon! The chapters might not be as long, but they will be more frequent! **

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A soft, persistent beeping noise suddenly invaded LJ's muddled mind. Her eyes felt as heavy as bricks; she didn't have the strength or motivation to open them yet. Though, the sensations that followed forced her to accept her reality. Her arm was hurting, but it only felt like a dull throb. Memories from the funeral procession flooded her mind in chaotic images. _Urg, I was shot._ _That son of a bitch. I'm going to lock him up for this._ Images of the Joker's unpainted face plagued her imagination, forcing her to open her eyes to try to get rid of them. LJ surveyed her surroundings in confusion. She was definitely not in the MCU anymore. Stark white walls enclosed her new setting and medical equipment lined the walls. This drew her attention to the cords that snaked up her bed and into her arm. _I hate hospitals_, she thought as she realized where she was. _They must have me on some strong pain meds_. LJ's mind still felt cloudy and uncharacteristically slow.

"Ah, Miss Johnson, you're awake. Are you in pain?" A young male nurse asked quickly as he walked straight toward the beeping machines without even making eye contact.

"I'll tell you when I know," she said bitterly, giving the nurse a weak smile.

"You know, I think you're being pumped with too much medicine. I'll let the doctor know." The nurse briskly turned to leave, but LJ stopped him.

"Was Lieutenant Gordon brought here?" The awkward nurse shook his head severely and continued out of LJ's room without saying anything else.

LJ sighed in frustration as she tried to prop herself up in the bed, but she couldn't quite find the strength yet. That doctor really didn't know what he was doing, all the drugs he pumped her with was making her feel completely helpless. She really was going to give the doctor a piece of her mind when he came in. She would much rather be in pain than basically powerless.

Instead, LJ fell back on the uncomfortable hospital pillow and closed her eyes. She moved her extremities back and forth in an attempt to force the medication out of her blood stream faster, but it was futile. LJ knew she had to get out of the hospital as soon as possible. If something really had happened to Gordon, she was going to be needed at the MCU. _This doctor better hurry_.

Suddenly, a drip of water fell across her forehead and startled LJ out of her drug induced stupor. She blinked rapidly and inspected her surroundings further. The drip seemed to come from a crack in the ceiling that ran across the whole plain, leaving behind an ugly mildew color. _That's not sanitary_... More drips fell from the ceiling sporadically. _That can't be right._

LJ clumsily swung her arm to her other arm and yanked out her IV. _I don't need any more of that_, she growled to herself, obviously disgruntled. She kept up the momentum and swung her legs over the bed. She sat there for a few seconds to get rid of the vertigo that was now fogging her mind. From this position, she could get a better look at the room she was in. The wallpaper was falling off and the tile floors were cold and unforgiving. This was definitely not right. She looked down to inspect her arm. Someone had patched her up well, but everything else was off. She was wearing a generic pair of long hospital pants and a gray tank top that seemed to be a size too small. The wound had clean bandages, but the stitches were crooked and sloppy.

As she looked around, everything seemed to alarm her instincts. The machines that were beeping were still making noise even though they weren't hooked up to her. _They're __**fakes**_, she whispered to herself in anger. _Where the hell am I?_ She said in alarm. She needed to get out of here.

With determination, LJ tried to stand up, her legs sore from inactivity. She shifted her weight from her right leg to her left, trying to wake her body up out of its drug paralysis, and it seemed to be working. However it wasn't working fast enough.

LJ barely heard the footsteps outside of her room before she could look for some sort of weapon. She grabbed one of the crutches from under the bed and held it in front of her as both a source of support and a weapon if she needed it. And she was definitely going to need it. As the door opened slowly, her heart began to beat faster and faster, and it practically stopped when she saw a purple pant leg step through the open frame.

"My sleeping beau-ty's awake. I'm so **glad**." LJ knew that the Joker was behind this. He wasn't just going to shoot someone and leave it at that. He always had some sort of motive and end game.

"Where am I?" She demanded, using the crutched to separate her and the advancing clown.

"Arkham Asylum of course! Where else would you be?" His face seemed to portray pure confusion, but she knew he was just trying to mess with her mind. When the Joker did something, he had some sort of psychological alternative motive.

"Hmm, I don't know, maybe a **real** hospital?" LJ moved to the farthest corner, and tried to inch toward the door, but the Joker's hunched body seemed to follow her everywhere. He mirrored her every movement.

"Oh you don't want to be in a hospital, _trust_ me." LJ laughed sardonically, knowing that no matter how bad the hospitals were, she would much rather be there than here with the Joker. He pointed at her accusingly before he continued. "_You_ should not be up. Naughty naughty. Come here." He signaled for her to walk toward him with his hands, but LJ just gripped the crutch tighter and tilted her head to the side in defiance.

Suddenly he lunged at her, ripping the crutch away from her and wrapped his arm around her waist, successfully trapping her arms to her sides. If she hadn't been so drugged up, she would have fought, but her arms were practically useless. Her shoulder that had been shot was slammed into his hard body as he held her with a vice grip. LJ flinched in pain, but refused to say anything. She wasn't going to give him that satisfaction.

"I've got something _fun_ planned for you. Just **relax**-ah. Doctor's _orders_." With that, he started to laugh hysterically while dragging his hostage out the door and down the desolate halls of the abandoned parts of Arkham Asylum. If anyone knew Arkham Asylum, LJ knew that it would be the Joker.

...

LJ must have passed out again, because she found herself in a similar situation as she was in earlier. Her head was cloudy, and her whole body ached. Though, this time she couldn't move her arms. Her movements weren't as rigid as before, so she figured whatever drugs that were in her system before were filtered out of her body. Before opening her eyes, she tried to listen to see if anyone else was in the room with her. But the room seemed to be completely silent, so she figured it was safe to open her eyes. Though, she wished he hadn't. She was in an empty cell in the Asylum, but she was tied to a chair that faced a wall made out glass so she could see out into the hallway. And people in the hallway could see her.

"Just in, uh, _time_." The Joker's voice reverberated throughout her cell as she looked around wildly. She needed to find a way out of this cell. But then again it was designed to keep in even the most dangerous of the criminally insane, so she was out of luck. Even the medical restraints that kept her tied down were almost indestructible. She was officially stuck.

The Joker stepped out from behind her chair and put his hands on the arm rests on the chair, making her feel even more trapped. His face was merely a foot away from hers, and a sickly smile spread across his face in a grotesque sort of excitement. He took one hand and reached out and held her chin forcefully and rubbed his thumb across her lips. She flinched away, not wanted him to be that close to her anymore, but he held her head in place. He stared into her eyes, as if he was looking for something, and LJ refused to look away. That would just show his dominance, and she wasn't going to let him beat her. Without saying anything, he jumped back and started to circle her like a lion and his prey.

"L-Jayyy, we're going to play a game. Have you ever heard of the, uh, Milgram Experiments?" _Ha-, figures he would know about the unethical psychological studies. _LJ rolled her eyes in defiance. She wasn't going to let this clown take away her dignity as well as her strength.

"Of course. I do have a degree in psychology. What does that have to do with me?" LJ answered his question through her teeth. She hated being as helpless as she was. There was literally nothing she could to to get free, and the Joker was in complete control. He let out a few childish giggles and placed his hands on her shoulders possessively. His tight grip made her flinch in pain again as she gritted her teeth.

"Oh, he's just an _inspiration_ of mine. I'll be, uh, taking a page out of his book tonight. You see I like knowing what makes people **tick**. I get the people of Gotham. . . **But**, I _don't_ get you. SO, we're going to play a little _game_. I ask you a question. If you answer honestly, nothing happens. **But**, if you _lie_, one of the EMTs from the ambulance that picked you up gets _shocked_."

"Milgram never shocked any of his patients. How do I know you're not lying." LJ said through her teeth, trying to block out how painful his hands were.

"I'm a man of my _word._" The Joker finally let his vice grip go, and leaned in and spoke in her ear, sending shivers down her back.

"That just means you keep promises. Doesn't mean you can't lie. And anyways, I would be stupid to trust anything that comes out of your mouth." Her captor smiled, letting her see his decaying teeth behind his gruesome Glasgow mouth. She shivered in disgust.

"Do my scars scare you?" He said, suddenly distracted. "Wanna know how I got em?"

"No they don't. And no I don't want to know. Isn't Jonathan Crane the one who's obsessed with fear? Are you taking a page out of his book tonight too?"

"What does scare you then, Lo-gan?"

"Bees. You know how they fly around your head and you can hear them before you see them. Sneaky little things. And they sting like hell. They scare me," LJ answered sarcastically.

"You're lucky we haven't started playing our, uh, _game_. But you see, I already **know** what you fear. You can't live with yourself knowing that people have gotten _hurt _because of you. And that brings me back to my point. How do you know I'm not ly-ing? Because you get to watch. _Everything_." As if on cue, a large spot light turned on in the hall, illuminating the cell across from her own. In the other cell, the two EMTs were chained to gurneys and attached to large generators. She let out a small gasp, and looked toward her captor as if to convince him to spare them, but she knew the had absolutely no empathy toward them.

"Let them go. I'll tell you everything you want."

"You see, I don't _think_ I will. That's no **fun**!" The Joker backed away from LJ and knocked on the glass wall of the cell to get the attention of his goons. "Fire them up!" He yelled out the door. LJ could hear the quiet hum of the generators turning on and the muffled yells of the two helpless EMTs.

"Let's get started!" The Joker giggled as he pulled up a chair and sat facing LJ. He had a small detonator in his hands, probably to the generator in the room over. "What to ask first . . . I know! How did you get that scar?" He pointed threateningly toward her face. The scar that was both similar and completely different than those that the Joker had. They were in the same spot (though hers didn't reach the corner of her mouth like his did), but that was the only similarity. Both seemed to reflect the owner's personalities. LJ: clean, straight laced, and harsh. The Joker: messy, grotesque, and frightening. Though he seemed to find some sort of homage knowing that they both had scars.

"You get right to the chase don't you? My father's responsible for the scar. Next question." Anger and intrigue flashed across the Joker's face before he said anything. He tilted his head in interest.

"You didn't _answer_ anything. Tell me about your father."

"That's not a question."

"Do you really want me to _shock_ those two?" LJ quickly shook her head and silently kicked herself for putting them in danger. Their well being were more important than her past.

"It's a _very _long story." The Joker waved his hands as if to make her continue. "What to say about my father . . ." She paused, thinking. The Joker seemed to be hanging onto her every word. "He was a drill sergeant. Literally. He was a high ranking Navy Seal. I grew up on naval bases my whole life, and our familial relationship was pretty normal until I turned 8. When my mother died." LJ paused, refusing to show any sort of pain. But her past was bound to bring up some unwanted emotions. Especially since she had suppressed it for so long.

"We were living in Taiwan, and where we were stationed was generally safe because it was technically US soil. But the towns surrounding the naval base were infamous for raiders and gangs. One day, my mom went out to a local market to buy some fresh fruit, and she was killed. My _father_ never gave me the details of her death, but it sounded like a terrorist group wanted to send a message. To tell my _father_ that they didn't like having US citizens in their territory."

"Sounds like my kind of people . . ." he said, in a sarcastic tone, but LJ didn't smile.

"Anyway. My father was crushed. He was so angry and he wanted revenge. But the group knew his face. So he used me. For years he treated me like a navy recruit. Training me to fight. I was raised like a warrior. An assassin. I never had a childhood . . . Meanwhile, my _father_ was tracking down the crime lords that murdered my mom. Four years later, I had just turned 13. And he found them. He forced me to kill each and every one of them. And I did. Though I didn't leave unharmed. I was left with this souvenir," LJ paused gesturing toward her face. "And many others. There. Is that what you wanted?" LJ bit the insides of her cheeks to calm herself down. She was on the verge of breaking down, but she wasn't going to let herself. Not in front of this psychopath.

The Joker didn't say anything. LJ figured it was because he didn't know what to say. He probably expected that it was some angry ex-boyfriend or an arrest gone bad.

"See, that wasn't too, uh, hard. Enough with the childhood, I'm bored with that. Tell me about dear Brucey." LJ frowned, expecting a whole different sort of question.

"What do you mean?"

"You two are . . . _dating_, aren't you? What kind of _secrets_ is our friendly neighborhood billionaire hiding?"

"Yuck, no we're not dating."

"Good, so you're single, hm?" The Joker smirked, leaning forward. LJ leaned back, further away from her captor. "You'll warm up to me. I, uh, guarantee it."

LJ didn't say anything else, she didn't want to encourage him.

"Answer the question Lo-gan."

"Oh, right. Bruce Wayne. I was introduced to him when I was sent to go undercover at his fundraiser. The one you crashed. He wanted to thank me for . . . arresting you, and so he insisted that we have dinner together. I refused. He insisted again. I suggested lunch. And we went. And that's when you escaped the MCU and so I had to leave early. I paid for myself. It wasn't a date. The end."

"Ah Harvey Dent's, uh, fundraiser. Good times. Ya' know, toots, I think it was love at first sight, wouldn't you agree?" The Joker erupted in a fit of violent laughter as he slapped his knee in amusement.

"Yeah you and the Batman were made for each other," LJ said sardonically. "Both making unwelcome visits into my home," she added under her breath, not thinking that he would be able to hear her, but it seemed like he did.

"What was that, beautiful? Batsy made a _house_ call?"

"He came in through my window a couple nights. He said that I needed to be careful. And that you had . . . taken a special interest in me."

"Oh Bats, he knows me so _well-uh_! And who can blame me, you're just too much _fun_." The Joker smirked as he snaked his hand to her knee and painfully gave it a squeeze.

"Why are you doing this? You don't care what I have to say. What's your endgame? You've tried to abduct me once and failed. Now you have me, but _why_?"

"**You** police officers always have to know that don't ya? Why this. Why that. No! _It doesn't __**matter**_. I'm going to teach you that, just wait and see." He leaned in closer, placing both of his hands on her thighs and gravitating toward her. "Look. At. Me." He enunciated as LJ tried to look away. "You need to lighten up. Laugh a little!"

"I guess it's a little hard to laugh when I'm _tied to a chair_," She growled.

"That spunk is going to get you in trouble-ah some day. But . . . _not_ today. Speaking of, why do **you** _think_ I nabbed you?" The Joker sat back down, but kept one of his hands on her leg.

"Are you asking me to _profile_ myself?" LJ hissed. She tried to jerk away from his grasp, but it was useless.

"That's, uh, what you _do_ isn't it? Come on, come on, come on."

"Well . . ." LJ paused before continuing, neither wanting to lie to or anger her captor. LJ also wanted to sound as confident in her abilities as possible. "Generally when looking at _stalkers_, there is something that sets them off. For you it was my behavior at the fundraiser. For example, _you_ are driven by the propagation of chaos. And I stopped your plan, but I was cocky, sarcastic, and ultimately chaotic. You must have seen some sort of _similarity_ between . . . us." She spat out, angrily. She didn't like accepting that he saw something in common with her. It made her skin crawl. "And from my profile of you . . . which you stole by the way . . . we both know you have an _obsession_ with proving that people are just as _sick _and demented as you. From what I figure, that's why I'm here. But I'm going to stop you right now, it's not going to happen. I'd rather die than be like you."

"Wrong ans-wer!" The Joker said in his sing-songy voice as he brought his hand up and clicked the detonator. LJ's eye's widened in horror as her cell was filled with the screams of the EMTs. She flinched as if she was feeling the shocks herself, the guilt of their misfortune hurting her as much as anything else could have.

"Stop it! Stop hurting them!" LJ's typical stoic exterior broke for a second as she yelled at the Joker.

"Lo-gan, you're com-PLE-tely _wrong_. Ya' see, _everyone_ has a breaking point-ah. And _I _think your **mas-k** is already slipping-g." LJ kicked herself for losing control of her temper like that. She needed to keep her composure around him if she wanted to keep her sanity. "And your **pro**file was a _bit _**off**. I think it was your **eyes**. They are the win-dows to the _soul_, you know! So in a sense, I already know _who you really are_."

LJ didn't know what to say. She didn't have a witty remark or some snark come back. She was completely frozen, suppressed by the guilt from the two hurt men across from her and also by the revulsion she felt for her captor.

"Nothing to say, hm? Well then, on with the _questions_." LJ tried to avoid the Joker's eye line, but he grabbed the back of her neck and entwined with fingers through her hair. She yanked at her restraints, but they still weren't budging. He forced her to look into his cold, black eyes as he leaned forward as if to whisper something into her hear. LJ could feel the scars on his mouth brush up against her cheek as his warm breath grazed her ears. She let out an involuntary shiver as he opened his mouth to speak, "I _like_ it when you squirm-m." She froze in place, refusing to move an inch. The Joker took a big breath in, as if to inhale her scent, and quickly jumped back to his own chair. He laughed as he tossed the chair to the side and started circling around her again.

"Tell me what you know about the **Batman**." His breathing was jagged and his voice was deeper than normal. LJ didn't know what changed.

LJ took a deep breath to control her thoughts before speaking. She was becoming too overwhelmed. "I've only seen him a couple of times. I don't know who he is."

The Joker let out a strange clicking noise with his tongue as he shook his head and licked his lips. "**Wrong** answer!" He growled before clicking the detonator again. LJ tried to block out the screams from the other room, but it wasn't working. She could hardly breath anymore, the guilt made her stomach knot.

LJ spoke quickly, knowing that the Joker would stop hurting the other men just so he could hear her over their screams. "He's only been in my apartment a few times. To warn me about you and to tell me to be careful. He was worried about me being in the paper with Wayne, and said that that might make you . . . angry."

The Joker stopped pacing back and forth in mid-step and turned to face LJ slowly. He looked mischievous as his lips curled into a cocky smirk.

"Oh it did, gorgeous. **Nobody** gets to lay their hands on you-ah besides _me_." LJ shook her head and continued as if he hadn't said anything at all.

"I contacted him a couple of times on the roof of the MCU with the bat signal. And we planned to catch you a few times, but obviously that didn't work out. And he helped me . . . that one day. That's it. I swear." LJ was vague when talking about the Joker's first failed attempt to capture her from her home. She didn't want to bring it up in the first place, but she also didn't want to leave anything out of her story. LJ didn't know how much more electricity the two men could handle.

The Joker flinched in anger as she referenced his failure. He circled around her chair once again, but stopped behind her. LJ tried to turn around to see what he was doing, but she couldn't turn that far. Suddenly, she felt his hands tighten around her wrists as he unlocked the shackles keeping her on the chair. He knew that she wouldn't fight. She was too protective over the two EMTs in the other room.

"What-" LJ was cut off before she could say anything else. He put his gloved finger over her dry lips to silence her as he re-cuffed her wrists together, so she was no longer chained to the chair. He quickly shoved her back against the wall, sending stabs of pain through her injured shoulder. His hands were on either side of her shoulders, trapping her between him and the wall. Somehow, she felt more violated here than in the chair.

"Did ya' think I _forgot_ about that **little** stunt you pulled? I don't like losing what's _mine_, LJ. And you went off and _ran_ to the Batman. Now that made me _angry_." The Joker looked her straight in the eyes, his head tilted down menacingly. "You're not going _anywhere_ anymore." LJ's stomach sank. _He's going to kill me._ _I just know it_. She thought to herself. Her heart started to beat faster as he continued to study her panic ridden face, and she couldn't do anything about it. The Joker still had the detonator, and she would rather die than be responsible for their deaths. She already had too much blood on her hands.

"I think I've had enough _fun_ watching you squirm, for now at least. Don't worry, I've got more up my, uh, sleeve." The Joker threw his arm around her waist and started pulling her toward the door. He rapped his knuckles on the glass and a couple of his henchmen unlocked the door for him as he dragged her out into the hallway.

"What- what about them?" LJ hissed, referencing the two men who were still lying on the gurneys in the other cell.

"Oh! Right . . ." The Joker walked over to the glass wall that looked into the cell and knocked on the glass like before, as he dragged LJ with him. "You guys can, uh, get up _now_." LJ looked up at him in confusion, and stared back at the men on the gurneys. They quickly hopped out of their restraints, proving that they were never even locked. LJ's stomach dropped once more. _This whole thing has been faked_. _He tricked me_! LJ was appalled. The screams, the shocks, _everything_ had been a lie. She should have known too.

Angry tears filled her eyes as the Joker gripped her tightly and let out hysterical giggles as he pulled her toward some sort of elevator shaft.

"Those weren't the EMTs from my ambulance," she growled accusingly, shaking the tears out of her eyes.

"Nope! Those guys are _long dead_ by now-ah!"

"You son of a bitch," she hissed through her teeth, trying not to yell out in fury and pain.

"What else did you, uh, _expect_?" He was right though. LJ should have known that this whole thing was a set up. The Joker liked to mess with people psychologically. That was his thing.

_He doesn't have anything over my head anymore. I can fight without being scared of the consequences!_ Hope began to fill her mind as she calculated some sort of plan to get out of there. She would have to wait though to see the layout of the Asylum. For all she knew, she could be boxed in, with no escape.

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**A/N: Thanks for reading, and let me know what you think! Thanks for everyone who's been reviewing, it means a lot to me! Who else is excited for the Dark Knight Rises? I AM! I'm going at midnight :) Does anyone have any crazy theories for how it's going to end?**

**Second A/N: The Arkham Asylum I've pictured is the one from Arkham Asylum the video game. So huge and haunting and all around nasty. Also, for anyone who didn't understand the "Milgram Experiments" reference, you should goole it, it's super interesting. It's a famous, unethical study on obedience where people were told to give people shocks of various strengths (of course the shocks were fake), and Milgram just wanted to see how far people would go and whether or not they would defy orders. Most people actually gave the shocks even though they could hear the other people in pain and yelling for help. Sometimes I lose faith in humanity because of this... Anywho, that's all, sorry for being a psychology nerd :)**


	10. Yin and Yang

**A/N: So here's another chapter, like I said it is shorter, but there will probably be another update later this week or early next week! **

**Shout out time!**

**Silent: Yay, you're back! Haha thanks for the review! I'm so excited to see how Christopher Nolan interprets the role of both Bane and Catwoman. I'm sure they'll both be amazing! And from people online who saw the movie at the premiere, they say that the movie is AMAZING! I have no idea how he'll end it either, so I'm excited to see how it does end! Personally, I don't think that Batman will die (I hope not at least)! **

**Guest: Thanks for reading! I'm glad you liked the last chapter!**

**Also, thanks for everyone who's been adding my story to their Alerts! **

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"Where are you taking me?" LJ hissed as she struggled against The Joker's grip around her waist as he kept pulling her toward the elevator shaft.

"You'll see!" He said in his sing-songy voice again while tightening his grip so she was pressed against his body.

LJ knew that struggling at this point would only hurt her cause, so she went stiff. It made the trip to the elevator much quicker because the Joker didn't have to stop every few steps and yank her around.

"Get _in_," he growled as he pushed her into the corner of the elevator, pain shot through her arm again. LJ inhaled sharply because of the discomfort and flipped around quickly before the Joker could do anything behind her back. As she turned, she was thrust back against the wall, trapped between his arms.

"We're going to, uh, lay some _ground rules_ now gorgeous. Rule one: there are **no rules**! Unless you _try to esca-ape!_ Then we're going to have a _problem_-ah." _Yeah right buddy_, LJ mused, already planning her escape. "You're not going to be a _problem_, are youuu?" The Joker shook his head menacingly as if to encourage her to say no too.

"Do I seem like the kind of person to give up easily?" LJ jeered toward her captor.

"Not. One. Bit." The Joker enunciated his words angrily. "I guess I'll just have to, uh, **teach** you some _manners _myself."

LJ rolled her eyes and replied sarcastically. "No thanks, I think I got it . . ."

The Joker leaned forward so that his mouth was touching her ears again. "Oh I _insist_." He exhaled deeply, making LJ flinch back against the wall. Luckily, the elevator door dinged, signaling that they reached the top floor.

"Come on, we've got some, uh, _TV_ to watch-ah." LJ stopped in confusion causing the Joker to yank her even harder.

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh our _dear_ friend Batsy's coming outta' the closet today. Goodbye cowl, _hello real man_."

"No, he _can't_," LJ whispered, hoping that the Joker didn't hear her, but of course he did.

"Oh he _can_. And he _will._ Can't wait to see who it is! It's like _Christmas_ all over again! My money's on **Dent**." The Joker jumped with excitement, but didn't pull her away from the wall to get out of the elevator.

LJ internally smiled as she knew that Harvey wasn't the Batman. He had been in the closet the whole time at the fundraiser when the caped crusader showed up. But then again, she didn't want Batman to turn himself in. After he had saved her from the Joker that one day, she realized how Gotham really needed their hero. He did a lot for the citizens, and she was thankful for that. LJ looked around confused; the elevator door was open, but they weren't getting out.

"Door's open," she muttered, hoping that they would be able to leave the confined space. She didn't really like being cooped up with the Joker for long periods of time.

"Oh I know-w! I just like this position-ah. Brings back **old** memories, doesn't it?" Images from when the Joker had her bent over her own kitchen counter invaded her mind and made her groan in embarrassment. _Just ignore him_, she tried to convince herself. But it was hard when he was rubbing her hip with his eager hands. "Too bad this little, uh, _moment_ can't last. See you when you _wake up_, beautiful."

"Wha-" Before LJ could comprehend what was going on, the Joker thrust a large needle into her neck, making her body go numb and slip into unconsciousness.

...

The Joker paced around the back room of his warehouse, waiting for a number of things to happen. The blonde detective was still passed out on a fraying couch and he was waiting for the moment to see her eye lids flutter open. Her hair splayed across the cushions as he studied her cringing face. He would have to wake her up soon. She was going to miss the show. He was then also counting down the moments until the Batman revealed who he really was. The Joker would soon learn the identity of the other yin to his violent yang. LJ being the other opposite. His foil.

The Joker spun around to look at the dirty clock on the wall and realized that the press conference was going to be broadcasted in a few minutes, and he didn't want LJ to miss all the fun. He grabbed a cold bucket of water and laughed as he poured it over her sleeping head. LJ sputtered and shot up from her spot on the couch, not knowing what was going on.

"What the hell?" She hissed, looking around the mangy room.

"Oh good, you're awake! You were going to miss all the **fun**!" The Joker pushed LJ to the side and hopped onto the couch next to her. He kicked his legs up on the table in front of the couch and wound his arm around LJ's waist to keep her in place. Her eyes grew wide as the events of the day reminded her of her current situation.

"Here we _go_." He giggled as the image of Harvey Dent came on the TV. LJ kept her eyes glued to the TV, silently praying that Batman changed his mind and decided not to turn himself in. She leaned away from the Joker as if his flesh was burning her own. He refused to let go, and dug his fingers into her waist. _I have to get these handcuffs off_, LJ thought to herself as she wiggled her wrists around to see if she could slip out of the restraints. Her raw skin screamed and protest, but she kept going, hoping that she would find a way out of them.

Harvey Dent's charismatic voice echoed through the warehouse office. "-But first. Let's consider the situation: should we give in to this terrorist's demands?"

LJ could feel the Joker's body rumble as he let out a few hysterical laughs. "Of _course_ you should!" He yelled at the TV.

"-But the night is darkest just before the dawn. And I promise you, the dawn is coming." Dent's words seemed to instill some sort of hope in LJ. She had been gradually losing hope, but Dent reminded her that she could help herself.

"HA! No, no, no Har-vey. The _dawn_ is NOT coming." His fingers pressed tighter to her waist as if to express his anger.

"-So be it." LJ couldn't believe it, Batman was actually going to turn himself in. The curious side of her wanted to know who he was, but she knew that that was just selfish.

"Here it comes!" The Joker started fidgeting in anticipation.

"-Take the Batman into custody-" LJ inhaled sharply, waiting to see what would happen. "-_I _am the Batman." Before she could even contemplate what was happening, the Joker leaped onto his feet and clapped his hands together.

"I _knew_ it! Sorry Lo-gan, I'm going to have to leave ya' for a bit. I've got a **bat** to catch. Don't, uh, cry. I _know_ you'll miss me." She couldn't believe her luck. He was actually leaving her alone, for the most part. She knew she would be able to fight his goons better than the Joker himself. She would just have to get those stupid handcuffs off first.

"What will I _ever_ do with myself," she laughed bitterly.

"BOYS!" He yelled into the hall. Three of his men came all but running into the room wearing clown masks. None of them even dared to look at him in the eyes.

"Ya' boss?" The one on the far right asked with hesitation.

"I _need_ you to keep a watchful eye on my guest here. She's **off limits** though. _Nobody_ touches her except for me. Isn't that right, beautiful?" The Joker turned toward LJ, expecting some sort of answer. She simply chose to ignore him and turn her attention toward her handcuffs.

"She's a little _shy_," he said behind his hand to the other men, as if he was telling them a secret. "Make sure she doesn't _leave_." He growled to the three men as he walked over to LJ in the corner.

"**Don't** try anything. Try not to _miss_ me too much. Or do." He let his hands linger at her waist one last time before he stormed out of the room, throwing his jacket over his shoulder.

_Time to put this plan into action._ LJ smiled to herself as she sized up her three opponents. Luckily the Joker hired crazies; they didn't seem too coordinated. They lumbered slowly out of the room, locking the door behind them. LJ quickly scanned the room she was locked in. It was a small office in what seemed to be a warehouse, with no windows. She scoured the room for anything that would help her. Finally, after what seemed like twenty minutes of searching, she found a discarded paper clip under stacks of newspapers with chaotic drawings on them. What she found most disturbing was that the Joker seemed to have kept every possible newspaper that had her name or picture in it. Those seemed to have the most scribbles, and some even had what looked like blood on them.

The blood on the newspapers reminded her that blood was starting to pool at her wrists from rubbing the skin raw. Though the slick warm liquid made it easier to slip her hands around in the cuffs. The pain of course was almost unbearable, but now she could maneuver her wrist around, giving her the best position to escape the bonds. She lowered her hands to the floor and stepped over the cuffs so that her arms were in front of her. With her new found dexterity, she unfolded the paper clip and slid it into the flat part of the key hole. She painfully started turning it in circular motions and one of the cuffs immediately unclasped from around her wrist. Relief flooded to the inflamed skin as cold air hit her wounds. LJ knew that she couldn't focus on the pain if she was going to escape.

After quickly undoing the other cuff, LJ held onto the paper clip and inspected the door frame. She laid on the ground, and looked under the door to see if the guards were right outside her door, but no one was there. She knew that she could knock out the guards one at a time, but not all three. She would have to separate them.

She knew that she would have to work fast, she didn't know when the Joker would be back. LJ threw the bloody handcuffs under a cushion on the couch and started kicking the door. She immediately heard heavy footsteps approaching, so she hid her hands behind her back as if they were still in restraints.

"Waddya' want lady?" A greasy man with long shaggy black hair grunted as the door closed behind him. LJ slowly inched toward him as making up some excuse.

"What's a girl have to do to get some water?" She said as flirtatiously as she could muster.

As the guy got close enough, LJ spun around him and threw her arm around his neck in a tight choke hold. He struggled spastically, but he couldn't breathe so he quickly slipped into unconsciousness. LJ dragged him to the floor and hid him behind the couch. She searched his clothes and found a ring of keys. _This is definitely useful_, she mused. She also pocketed a small army knife and a cell phone. _I should really call someone_ . . . _Who can I trust though? Let's just see how far I can get by myself_, she thought to herself foolishly.

LJ ran threw the door and crept down the hallway, following the sound of voices and light. She figured as it got brighter, that meant there was bound to be a window for her to climb out of. Hopefully she wouldn't have to face the other two goons, she needed to keep her energy up. The warehouse was relatively easy to navigate; much more straight forward than Arkham Asylum.

Soon enough, after following the same hallway for a minute or so, LJ stumbled upon a window large enough to climb out of. Luckily, she was tall enough to reach the latch and it wasn't locked. The lock itself was rusted and the wood around it was molding, so it wouldn't have mattered anyways.

LJ listened for a few more seconds before shoving the window open and hoisting her leg through the opening. The window made a screeching noise, so she would have to hurry. The warehouse wasn't that big, so the other two men were sure to hear it. She wasted no more time before throwing herself out the window; luckily it was a single story building, so she didn't fall that far.

She quickly got up and brushed her knees off and took off running as fast as she could in the first direction she saw. It didn't matter where she went, as long as she was as far away from the Joker as possible.

From what felt like an hour, LJ finally slowed down to a slow jog. She looked around wildly, trying to figure out where she was. It was too dark to see anything, and when you're in the Narrows, being unprepared is extremely dangerous. Suddenly, police sirens filled the air, from what seemed to be a couple blocks over on the freeway. The ground abruptly started to rumble and LJ could see explosions in the distance. _What the hell? _She took off running faster than before as she approached the explosions. Where there's fire, there's the police. And she needed to find Gordon.

As she rounded the corner, she was flattened to the wall of a store front by a speeding motorcycle. If she could call it that. _What the hell is THAT?_ _This city is going down the drain._ LJ squinted her eye to get a better look at the motorcycle and discovered that it was Batman. _Of course_. _What's he doing now?_ She turned the other way as she heard a screeching halt. Her eyes widened in horror as she saw a semi truck capsize and crash to the street with an extremely loud collision.

LJ cringed in fear as she slowly advanced toward the wreckage. She would have continued, but the last person she wanted to see crawled out of the crashed truck. The Joker. _Damn him, _she whispered under her breath. She started to back away slowly and crouched behind a car. The Batman would definitely be able to take care of him by himself. She observed as her former captor jumped over something and started to wave a pistol at oncoming traffic. _Damn it people, drive the other way! _

"Hit me. Come on. _Hit me!"_ She could hear him cackle. Batman was speeding toward him in his motorcycle, but LJ knew he wouldn't hit the Joker. He was too righteous for that.

The Joker held out his arms, waiting for the impact because there was no room to go around him. LJ could hear Batman turn on the brakes and dump the bike. Batman fell to the ground, as if in slow motion.

"No!" LJ yelled as Batman didn't get up, but nobody seemed to hear her. The impact of the fall must have knocked him unconscious. She watched as one of the Joker's thugs approached the fallen vigilante, and LJ knew that she had to do something. The Batman had saved her once, and now it was her turn to save him. She slowly stood up from behind the car and put her chin up in confidence and slowly walked in their direction. She hadn't drawn any attention to herself yet. The Joker was too preoccupied with the Batman. It looked like the thug was reaching down to pull off the cowl, but an electric current jerked him back. The Joker's creepy laughs filled the air as he started to flick a switchblade and crouch toward the caped crusader.

"Get away from him!" LJ yelled as the Joker reached toward Batman with his knife. He looked up in surprise and then in anger as their eyes met. He bared his teeth before looking from the hero to LJ; he was conflicted.

"Drop it." A voice from behind the Joker said. LJ tore her eyes away from the two people on the ground to see Gordon. _He's okay!_ She thought as she smiled. _Just in time too._

"Ahh! Can you _please_ just give me a **minute**," the Joker growled as Gordon cocked the gun from behind his head.

"We got you, you son of a bitch," Gordon announced triumphantly.

"You just _had_ to stop me in front of my **girl**, didn't ya'? Nice of you to join me, Lo-gan. How'd you get out anyways? Can't trust anyone anymore. You gotta do everything _yourself_." LJ ignored the Joker's taunts as she tended to Batman on the ground. She could hear him yell out in anger as he struggled against the restraints that Gordon slapped on him. Her boss handed the struggling clown to Detective Stephens who pushed him into a vacant police cruiser. Nobody, except from the Joker, seemed to notice how LJ was helping Batman to his feet. She propped his arm around her shoulders, trying to support his heavy Kevlar wrapped, muscular body.

She turned to see what was going on, but the only thing that caught her eye was the Joker, hanging out the police car, staring at her murderously. The death glare sent shivers down her back as she turned back around and helped Batman around the corner into a back alley.

"Are you okay?" She asked quietly through her heavy breathing. It was a workout trying to carry him less than a block. He was extremely heavy, and she wouldn't be able to help him much longer.

"I should be asking you the same thing. You've been gone for days." She had forgotten how deep his voice was, and it almost made her jump.

"It's fine. I got away from him. I'll tell you _all_ about it when we're somewhere safe. And you can walk by yourself. God you're heavy." LJ heard him chuckle pathetically as he tried to limp faster.

"I've got it from here, you need to go to the station. Gordon's probably looking for you."

LJ looked at him in confusion. "You can barely walk."

"I don't need to walk." He growled as he took his grappling gun from his utility belt and aimed it toward the sky. "Go find Gordon. He'll need to know what happened first. I'll contact you." He didn't wait for an answer before he fired the grappling gun and flew into the sky.

* * *

**A/N: 8 more days until the midnight premiere of TDKR! I can't handle the suspense! Anyways, thanks for reading, and I hope you liked this chapter as much as I liked writing it! Please review :)**


	11. Explosive

**A/N: Okay so I know that I said I would upload short chapters, buuuuuut I couldn't stop writing. And this turned out to be one of my longest chapters! So I hope you enjoy!  
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Justbeforethedawn900: Your review literally made my day :) Thanks so much for being so kind! I'm glad that you think my story is unpredictable, that's what I'm trying for! **

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**Avis11: Haha don't apologize! I'm glad to get the reviews that I do! I'm so happy that you guys are liking what I'm doing with my story!**

**Guest/Anonymous: Thanks for your consistant reviews! I'm glad you're keeping up with my little story :)  
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**Also to all my new followers, thanks for reading! Please feel free to review!**

* * *

LJ stood there, looking up at the sky, for a few seconds before turning around and running back from where she came. Luckily, Gordon hadn't left yet, and she saw him talking to Dent.

"Gordon!" she said, trying to hide her excitement to see that he was okay.

"Johnson, we've been looking _all_ over for you. We have to talk back at the station. Why don't you ride with Detective Stephens." Her boss seemed to be extremely relieved to see that LJ was fine. She could tell that he felt guilty that she had been missing.

"If it's alright with you, I'de like to ride with you."

"You know the Joker's in the back of my car?" His tone was suspicious, he figured that she would want to be as far away from the Joker as possible.

"I'm aware. One of the only things that kept me going these past few days was the hope that I would be the person to bring him into the station again. Am I making any sense?" LJ was so close to finally putting the Joker behind her, and move on.

"Well don't let me stop you. You can ride shotgun." He gave her a reassuring smile as they walked to the police cruiser together. After her whole ordeal with the Joker, she found that she was no longer terrified of the painted clown. That was all he was: another crazy, who thought they were above society's rules. And she had spent enough time with him to know that if he wanted her dead, she would be.

"Looksss like the, uh, _roles_ have changed, hm L-Jayy? Now I'm the one in _handcuffs_. I always **knew** you were into _that_ sort of thing." Though LJ was used to his taunts and had learned to ignore them, Gordon definitely was not. He looked like he was going to shoot the Joker himself if it had not been for her stopping him.

"Just ignore him Gordon. He's just trying to make us angry. Let's get the the station ASAP." If LJ would have turned around to look at the Joker, she would have seen him smirking smugly and leaning back in his spot behind the divider in the car.

"Can't ignore me forever, gorgeous!" he cackles as he leaned forward, trying to get as close to her his restraints allowed.

The rest of the drive went by quickly since they had already been pretty close to the MCU in the first place. LJ could hear the Joker shift around in the backseat a few times during the ride, so she kept her eyes on his restraints to make sure he didn't slip them. She didn't want him to escape. Again.

A strong sense of deja vu came across LJ as she got out of the car and yanked the Joker out with her. Off duty officers seemed to have taken time out of their nights to witness his arrest. They applauded as she read him his rights grudgingly and put him in a cell in her unit.

A crowd of on-duty officers circled her to ask her questions but before they could, she gave them orders. She didn't really feel like answering questions yet. "Pat him down. Record everything. Take prints, lint samples, anything that will help us get an ID. This is your priority for the rest of the night! We can't screw this up."

"I want _her_ to do it," he muttered, complaining as four men entered his cell to pat him down. LJ turned around and saw the Joker staring her down and pointing to her threateningly. She walked over to the side of the cell, but didn't enter.

"Well we all don't always get what we want, hm?" With that, she turned and walked out of the atrium of the Major Crimes Unit, leaving the Joker behind her. She needed to take a shower and change. It had been a long few days and everything she had been through was written in dirt and blood all over her skin. She wanted to change into her own clothes really badly as well.

The first stop she made was to her office, where she grabbed her backpack of stuff. She had to pull down strands of caution tape that crossed off her office to get in. Apparently people _were _actually looking for her. But she was sure there was no clues in her office. LJ was glad that nobody took her backpack. It had everything that she could possibly need now. She grabbed her soap, shampoo, and conditioner and held them in her hands like they was gold.

She rummaged through her pack and grabbed another pair of black yoga capris, running shoes, and a half-zip black under-armor jacket. If anything, her abduction gave her the right to dress as comfortably as she wanted for the next few weeks.

LJ took the hottest shower possible, scrubbing her skin raw until all traces of blood and dirt were gone. She took special precautions around her still-healing shoulder. Though she knew that it was healing well. Shoulder wounds usually looked worse than they actually were, and she was hoping that hers would heal quickly.

Once she was done, she quickly dried off and threw on her clothes, almost feeling better immediately. She got a good look at her face and was appalled. There were bruises from unknown origins that scattered her right cheek, and very dark circles under her eyes. She decided that she couldn't seem weak in front of the Joker and quickly tried to cover up the bruises with makeup. She even swept on mascara to look less haggard.

LJ was gone for less than twenty minutes, and by the time she ran back to the MCU atrium, her men were still trying to get the Joker to calm down long enough to pat him down. They had managed to get a few knives off of him, but LJ was positive that he would have more. She couldn't imagine that he stood still long enough to let them finger print him.

"Detective Johnson, thank god you're back. He's not, um, cooperating," a rookie cop said frantically.

"Get more men from upstairs and put him in more restraints. What have you found?" She knew that the Joker would be completely docile if he got his way and had her pat him down, but she wasn't going to allow that. She wouldn't go out of her way to do what he wanted. LJ needed to establish some sort of dominance.

"We managed to pry his jacket away. All that was in his pockets were knives and lint. We've documented everything we got and sent it down to forensics. We didn't get prints the conventional way, but we dusted his gloves and got enough for a few partial prints. They're also being processed now. But we can't hold him down long enough to see if he's hidden any more knives. He's getting pretty, uh, hostile . . . as you can see." LJ glanced over and saw the Joker sitting on his bench, waiting for a cop to even try to get near him. As one advanced, he quickly kicked out his leg, catching the cop in the side.

"Joker, behave!" She hissed through the bars next to him. When he heard her voice, his face immediately perked up and smiled gruesomely.

"You're ba-ack! Change your _mind_ about wanting to check me ov-er?"

"No, I'm here to authorize the use of _sedatives_ if needed. So settle down." The smile disappeared from the Joker's face as he turned and faced forward and feigned innocence.

"I don't think he'll be much of a problem anymore officer," LJ said as she turned toward the rookie. Relay any new information to me immediately. I have to find Gordon."

As if on cue, Gordon walked into the MCU with the mayor in tow. "How's he doing? I don't want anything for his mob lawyers to use."

LJ quickly told him everything that they had found out, which was basically nothing. His clothes were custom made, and his finger prints didn't pan out. They had finally gotten everything out of his pockets and all there was were knives and lint.

Gordon nodded in disappointment, he had obviously hoped that they would be able to ID him, but he knew that was a high hope.

"Back from the dead Gordon?" The mayor finally said, speaking up. _Back from the dead? What? _ LJ didn't know what the Mayor was talking about.

"Couldn't risk my family's safety," he muttered, glancing over at the Joker who was still sitting still in his cell.

"Go home Gordon. The clown will keep till morning. Get some rest, you've going to need it. Tomorrow you take the big job! You have no say in the matter . . . Commissioner Gordon!" LJ smiled at her boss's promotion, truly happy for him. He really deserved it. Everyone in the atrium was clapping again, even the Joker.

LJ clapped him on the back in congratulations. "You deserve it Gordon, congrats."

He leaned over as if to tell her a secret. "If you're sticking around, I'll put a good work in for you as Lieutenant. You've done well here."

Both LJ and Gordon turned to leave, she knew that he would need to know about what happened when she was abducted. Once they got to his office, she quickly explained everything from getting shot to the Joker killing the EMTs. Apparently they had been found in the North River by Grant. LJ, of course, felt extremely guilty, but knew that the Joker was the only one to be blamed for what happened to them. They had done as much as they could.

"Go back to your apartment Johnson. The Joker's in custody, there's no reason why you shouldn't get a good nights sleep."

"I think I've slept more in the past three days than I have in the past month." LJ was of course talking about being unconscious. If anything, she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep for a good few days.

"Don't wear yourself too thin. We still have to get him convicted. I want him in Blackgate, not Arkham." She nodded, knowing that Blackgate was probably more guarded. The Joker was obviously familiar with the inner workings of Arkham, and would undoubtedly be able to escape.

"Don't worry about me, _Commissioner_." She chuckled as he left to go home, leaving LJ to do her work at the MCU.

...

"Hey Johnson, someone turned on the bat signal. Figured since Gordon's not here, and you usually deal with stuff like that . . ." The same rookie cop from earlier said as he knocked and stood in her office door. She had been busy compiling evidence and her own witness statements for the Joker's trial as he came in.

"I'll take care of it." She said hurriedly as she rushed to the roof. _Who would turn on the signal?_ She couldn't think of anyone, and didn't see anyone when she first walked onto the landing.

"Hello?" She called out, hoping to see Gordon or someone who she recognized.

"You have the Joker in custody?" The unmistakable voice of the Dark Knight made her jump and turn toward the signal. He was leaning against his own beacon, and immediately turned it off once she noticed him.

"Yeah. He's locked up good and tight. We're planning on interrogating him tomorrow. You were the one who turned this on?" She asked, confused.

"I knew you would come up, and I didn't know how else to contact you without drawing unwanted attention." She nodded, knowing that actually made some sense.

"Are you okay? Do you know where he held you?" He whispered, getting right to the point. LJ wasn't sure, but it seemed that Batman's voice seemed a little more gentle than usual; if she could call it that. He almost seemed physically pained to think of her abduction.

"It's fine, I'm dealing; you know, the usual. From what I could tell, it was an abandoned warehouse on the border of Grant and the West Village, about ten blocks from where you played chicken with the Joker. I searched, for the most part. I didn't find anything incriminating. Though I don't think we'll need it. There is no doubt of innocence in his case." Batman nodded, but she knew that he would probably go and try to find anything she missed anyways.

"You know I . . . looked for you. I didn't abandon you," he said, averting his eyes to the ground. She knew that he felt guilty. Mostly because she knew that she felt the same way.

LJ was almost speechless as her heart beat started to race. She didn't know why her body was betraying her like this. "I know," she said simply, reaching out to try to comfort him. The hard kevlar of his suit was unforgiving, but his eyes were another story. They almost seemed child-like and hurt.

He paused, closing his eyes and imagining the feeling of her touch, and opened his mouth to say something else but her cell phone started to ring, interrupting what would have been.

LJ paused, not wanted to interrupt the moment, but he nodded knowing that the call could be important. "Go for Johnson," she said almost whispering.

"It's Officer Randall. We just got a call to the station. Harvey Dent and Rachel Dawes never made it home."

"Shit, call Gordon to let him know. Get the Joker in interrogation room one. All other cops need to be searching abandoned warehouses in the northern quadrants. Pay close attention to ones in Grant, West Village, and North Point: near the docks."

LJ quickly turned back toward the vigilante, knowing that he heard their conversation. His face was unreadable, but she knew that it was another mask.

"I want to be in the interrogation room." The caped crusader said huskily. LJ hadn't realized how close they had gotten, but she could feel his warm breath on her cheek.

"I think I know what we need to do." LJ smirked mischievously as she explained her plan to Batman and quickly hightailed it back down to the MCU to explain it to Gordon. Both of them needed to be in the same room with the Joker. They were going to play some old fashioned bad cop- worse cop.

...

LJ knew that she couldn't be in the room with the Joker and his interrogators. His obsession with her would just distract him from getting to the point. Instead, she decided to stay behind with Officer Stephens. Though there was a two-sided mirror in the interrogation room that would let her see what was going on, she felt like she needed to be farther away from him. She and Stephens were watching the whole thing from a monitor in the atrium with the rest of her unit.

"Even-ing, Commissioner." The Joker's signature drawl rang out through the room. A morbid sense of deja vu hit her once again as LJ remembered the second time she had a run in with the Joker. When he had mistaken her for Commissioner Loeb.

"Harvey Dent never made it home."

"Of course not."

"What have you done with him?"

The Joker erupted in a violent fit of laugher before answering the Commissioner's question. LJ didn't want to listen anymore, but she knew that she had to. "_Me?_ I was right here. Who did _you_ leave him with? Your people? Assum-ing, of course, that they are _your_ people, not Maroni's . . ." The Joker paused and looked away, crossing his arms across his chest. "Does it depress you, to know how _alone_ you really are?"

"Where is he?"

"What time is it?" He said, nonchalantly. LJ couldn't believe that the Joker had managed to do something with both Dent and Dawes while kidnapping her and trying to kill the Batman.

"What difference does that make?" Gordon hissed, it was obvious that he was getting angry.

"Depending on the time, he might be in one spot. _Or several_." The Joker smirked, knowing that he was getting to Gordon.

Instead of sitting there, Gordon stood up, moved to the Joker and undid his handcuffs. "It we're going to play games, I'm going to need a cup of coffee."

"Speaking of games, how's _my_ LJ doing? She's behind that window, isn't she? Couldn't resist me, hm beautiful?" The Joker turned and gestured to the empty room behind the two sided mirror. _Ha! If only he knew_.

Gordon smirked, knowing full well that she wasn't there. He pivoted on his heels and left the room. Right before he left though, he turned the overhead lights on, revealing that nobody was in the room in question, and also revealing that Batman was behind him.

"Well that's _disappointing_," the Joker mused angrily as he realized that LJ was not watching him. He obviously hadn't seen Batman yet. LJ knew that she should watch the interrogation, but something about watching Batman pummel someone just wasn't appealing. She knew that the Joker deserved what he got too, but she was worried that she would think less Batman if she saw what he did. Mindless violence never really interested her.

LJ quickly walked to her office, waiting for Batman to extract the information that they needed to proceed. She busied herself for a few minutes with paperwork that needed to get done. _Why do I even care about what Batman does? It's not like it's a secret that he beats people up for a living._

Suddenly, an officer knocked on her door, snapping her out of focus. "LJ, you better come quickly, the Joker spilled. Gordon and Batman are going after the hostages. How are you going to proceed?"

LJ thought about going with Gordon, but she knew that it would be fruitless. "Someone has to stay behind and make sure that the Joker doesn't escape again. I'll stay here with Stephens and the clown."

"Sounds good, see you down in the atrium Detective."

LJ could feel that something was up. Batman's first warning about the Joker rang out in her mind. Everything the Joker did, though chaotic, was calculated. Last time he was captured, it was because he _wanted_ to be put in the MCU. She would act like this time was no different. If Joker had a plan to escape, she wasn't going to let it happen.

LJ quickly thrust her arms through her kevlar vest as she got into the elevator, she wanted to be as safe as possible. As she made it to the main holding cell, LJ realized that most of the officers had left to accompany Gordon. The atrium seemed relatively empty besides Detective Stephens and a few uniformed officers. Stephens seemed to be guarding the door inside of the interrogation room that the Joker was still being held in. Shattered glass was everywhere, and the Joker was sitting smugly on the ground. He was clearly happy with what he had accomplished in a few short hours.

LJ was appalled with the condition of the MCU. The Joker had sent everything to hell and back. She quickly tapped into the coms unit into Stephens ear and growled out orders. "Stephens, what are you doing? Get him away from all that broken glass and into some restraints! Are you _trying_ to get us all killed?" His hand immediately went to his ear, and his surprised face kept nothing a secret. The Joker would have definitely picked up on the change.

"Who could that have been, hm? No fair keeping secrets. Come _on_ **share** with the clas_s_. I won't tell _anyone_." The Joker giggled as he jerked out of his reverie.

"Shut it, clown." Stephens turned to signal some officers to clean up the the mess, but the Joker distracted him again.

"I want my phone call. _I want my phone call._" The Joker first said it quietly, but soon got much more forceful. LJ shook her head, knowing that he was just trying to distract Stephens. He was going to do something, and LJ needed to stop it herself.

"That's nice." Stephens said, brushing him off. _Good. Stephens needs to stay calm. The Joker feeds off of anger._

"How many of your friends have I _killed_?" _Shit, I need to get him out of there_. LJ signaled for some officers to attempt to get the Joker in restraints and to move him back into his cell, but no one seemed to be listening. The were too occupied with the Joker's barrage of taunts.

"I'm a twenty year man. I can tell the difference between punks who need a little lesson in manners, and the freaks like you who would just enjoy it." Stephens paused, but LJ could see the conviction and anger in his eyes. "And you killed six of my friends." The Joker mouthed the word _six_ as Stephens crossed his arms in silent protest.

"You know why I use a _knife_, De-tec-tive? Guns are too . . . _quick_. You don't get to sav_or_ all the **little** emotions. See, in their last moments, people show you who they really are . . ." LJ looked at Stephen's conflicted face. She could tell that he was trying to ignore him, but it wasn't working. The Joker continued to sit like a kid kept after class, guiltily laughing at his own mischief. "So, in a way, _I_ knew your friends better than you _ever did_." This was it. She knew that Stephens was going to lose it. She started to advance toward the locked door across the precinct, but she wasn't going to get there in time. She had waited too long. "Would you like to know which of them were _cowards_?" A sickly smile crossed the clown's gruesome face, exposing his yellowing teeth that gave LJ nightmares.

"I know you're going to enjoy this," Stephens said as he started to roll up his sleeves threateningly. "So I'm just going to have to enjoy it more."

"That's it! Unlock these doors!" LJ yelled at the officers manning the control board. The fight had already started though. She could hear Stephens land a powerful punch in the Joker's gut.

LJ could hear the loud buzzing of the door opening, but she was too late. As the door was thrust open, LJ was greeted with a smiling clown, holding a piece of broken glass up to Stephen's throat. It took mere milliseconds for LJ to yank her gun out of its holster at her waist.

"Let him go Joker," she hissed as she aimed her gun at his forehead. Stephens was struggling too much for her to get a good shot. The gun was no use.

"What are you _willing_ to give me for an ex_change_," he giggled, pressing the jagged glass against the soft skin of the Detective's neck, drawing a few droplets of blood.

"This is my own damn fault. Just shoot him," Stephens said, effectively drawing more blood from the thin criss-crossing cuts that formed from his bobbing adam's apples as he talked.

"What do you want?" LJ growled, ignoring Stephen's request. She wouldn't let any more men die on her watch.

"I just want my phone call," he hummed innocently as he licked his lips. LJ nodded, thinking that his request was pretty harmless. She slowly reached into her pocket of her vest and retrieved the phone she had stolen from the Joker's warehouse.

"Kept a souvenir, hm Lo_gan_? I _knew_ you missed me," he cackled as he recognized the device as one of his own and fumbled with the buttons of it. LJ held her breath as she kept her weapon trained on the Joker's head.

"Though I would _love _to stay, duty calls. We'll be seeing each other _soon_ beautiful," he growled as he pressed the send button with conviction. The instant that his finger released the button, a deafening explosion erupted from the end of the room. The door to the holding area exploded, and LJ was pushed to the ground, losing sight of the clown.

_Damn it_, she hissed through the pain. Her arms throbbed and her head was spinning. She couldn't get up yet because of the pain and the ringing in her ears. The blast had hurdled chunks of cement and metal throughout the main holding cell, burying the once pristine main hub of the MCU.

She lifted her head, though it felt like it weighed fifty pounds. _Once I get outta here, I need to get my head checked out or something._ She had been roughed around once too many times this past week, and she didn't want any lasting damage.

LJ lithely rolled onto her back, surveying the damage to the rest of her body. She needed to keep pressure off of her shoulder too if it was ever going to heal correctly. As her senses came back to her, she spotted Stephens laying motionless on the ground next to her. His arm was twisted in a weird direction, but that wasn't what frightened her the most. What scared her was that the Joker was nowhere to be seen. And neither was Lau. _I knew he was up to something . . . I'm always too late._

...

It took almost twenty minutes for LJ to drag Detective Stephens safely out of the rubble. It had also taken the same amount of time for the first fire engines to arrive to assess the damage. A fire had broken out in the forensics stations, apparently the explosion set off some of the more flammable chemicals. _There goes all of our evidence_, LJ mused to herself, angry that the Joker had eluded her grasp once again. The next time she arrested him, she was going to send him straight to Arkham to wait his trial. No more pointless interrogations, no more cushy cells. He's going to be locked up forever, with no chance of escape. After that, he would be sent to Blackgate to rot for the rest of his demented life.

Before anyone could question her, LJ slipped away unnoticed in a squad car and sped off to where another explosion had taken place. She had found out what happened to Harvey and Rachel from some of the Firefighters gossiping as they sifted for evidence at the station. If she was going to find Batman, she knew he would be there.

The sun was finally rising, bring a new day of destruction and horror to Gotham. LJ couldn't believe that the Joker had Gotham wrapped around his finger once again. His reign of terror needed to come to an end, and soon. The sun's reflections bounced off the inferno that used to be the abandoned warehouse that had trapped Harvey Dent. She could see a shadowed figure bending over in the smoldering debris, and she knew that she found who she was looking for.

As she ran out, it looked like Batman had picked something out of the rubble, and had in entrapped in between his fingers. As she got close enough, he seemed to sense her presence, but didn't move. She could see that he held a medium sized coin in his hand, but she didn't know how that could help them.

"This was all my fault," he uttered looking down at the coin in his hand. "This _was_ . . .well, _is_ Dent's," he said answering her unpronounced question.

LJ could feel Batman internalizing the blame for Rachel's death and Harvey's injury. She knew that it was unlikely for him to survive after such an incident. He was too at risk for infection if he didn't get skin grafts soon. She knew that she had to say something to make him feel better.

"You know . . ." LJ paused, preparing to tell him something that she had never told another soul. She knew that it was relevant and that it could help him, but it made her feel strangely exposed. LJ's voice rang out with sadness for all three hurt parties: Harvey, Rachel, _and_ Batman. She reached out and placed her hand over his that held the coin. "My mom, uh, died when I was little and my father always blamed me for it even though I wasn't even with her. But as a kid, you know . . . you always take the blame onto yourself. I carried that debilitating guilt for years until I realized that I never had anything to do with her death. It took a lot of convincing but I learned that you can't blame yourself for something another person does. The Joker was responsible for this destruction. You've only inspired good. Don't blame yourself for his horrible attacks. Just fight to stop the responsible party. That's all we can do. And I'll be right here fighting with you. You're not doing this on your own." Toward the middle of her speech, Batman had raised his face to look at hers in disbelief. The most stoic person he knew, only second to himself, was finally opening up. He could see the part of her that reminded him of himself; the part of him that he thought had died when his parents were murdered. Something in LJ was bringing that person back. She seemed to understand the best part of his identity. Not the playboy, and not the vigilante. His true self that he thought he had suppressed for years.

LJ could feel her throat tighten, not knowing how her little monologue had helped the Batman. She suddenly felt naked in front of him, and almost embarrassed that she had allowed herself to be so weak. She looked down at the ground to hide tearing eyes as Batman said nothing. She had faced too much of her past in the past few days not to let a few tears fall. She even felt like she needed to cry for Rachel, even though she had only met her once. That one time was enough to know that her death was a terrible loss for Gotham. She couldn't remember the last time that she had cried. Maybe it was years ago, maybe it was at her mother's funeral; it didn't really matter.

Before she could turn around to leave, LJ felt a strong but tender hand cusp her chin and lift her face to look at Batman. Their eyes met, and they realized that they were feeling the exact same emotions at the exact same time. A singular tear threatened to fall down her cheek but it never fell from her face. He had brought his gloved thumb across her cheek, wiping any remnants of tears off her face.

"Thank you," he whispered sincerely. His voice seemed much different than the deep Batman voice that she was used to. It was more . . . human. And she felt like she had heard it before.

LJ let out a choked laugh as she blinked away the formation of any future tears. Something about his presence seemed to set her at ease.

"You'll never have to thank me for anything," LJ whispered as a genuine, small smile stretched across his face. That had reminded him of what he had once said to Commissioner Gordon a long time ago.

"And neither will you," the vigilante said, returning her smile. She thought it was weird to see the juxtaposition of his stoic black mask and the jovial up-curve of his lips. This was probably the only time she would ever witness any sort of emotion out of the Batman, so she tried to enjoy is as long as possible.

"Come on, let's catch us a clown," LJ said turning toward her car swiftly. She would have continued if it had not been for Batman reaching out and grabbing her arm gingerly to stop her. LJ winced in pain as he held onto the arm that connected to her already wounded shoulder. If it had not been for her already dark clothing, she was sure that she would be able to see trickles of blood pooling down her arms. LJ had lost a lot of blood quickly, and started to feel its effects.

"What's wrong?" He asked as his concerned eyes fell to her oozing wound. Without words, he gently slipped off her kevlar vest and moved her shirt to reveal her festering laceration. The garish stitches had ripped and blood was flowing freely down her arm with no stopping it.

"Ooh it wasn't like that before . . ." she whispered weakly.

Without saying anything, Batman scooped LJ up in his arms bridal style and carried her to the Tumbler.

"Really? Back to this again? If I was back to full strength, I would be kicking your ass Batman," she said weakly as her body became accustomed to his cold suit.

"Good to know that you're still lucid," he said jokingly, though his face remained stoic.

"Don't take me to hospital . . . Joker said something . . . Bad happening," LJ could barely enunciate anything, the blood loss was going to her head and she was getting weaker by the second.

"I know a place," he growled as he gently placed her in the passenger's seat of the black tank.

LJ couldn't remember anything after that moment she hit the stark leather seat of the Tumbler. Batman's face hardened once he realized she had slipped into unconsciousness and pressed on the throttle, sending the tank flying down the empty highway. Bruce's mind wandered, realizing that he had been in a similar situation with Rachel merely a few years ago. Except this time, he knew that the woman lying next to him accepted his role as the masked vigilante, and that gave him some comfort.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, so obviously this wasn't the most exciting chapter, but I enjoyed writing it. I hope you guys liked the turn of events. Tell me what you think about Batman and LJ's newfound bonds! I'm hoping to update soon before the premiere of the new movie! Let's try to get over 30 reviews in celebration of TDKR! Also, I realized that LJ has been passing out a little too much, so I promise this is the last time... I didn't even realize it until I was writing this chapter. And plus, this time was necessary for the next chapter! Happy reading!**


	12. Pep Talk

**A/N: Like promised, I finished another chapter before the new movie came out! I'm actually going to a friend's house in an hour to watch the first two movies and then go to the midnight premiere :) I'm a little rushed so I didn't get to write as much as I wanted to and fully edit it, so I might go back later! And since I'm in a rush, I can't give shout outs/ responses to comments, so here's a catch-all THANK YOU to everyone who's reading now :) -Hannah**

* * *

LJ's eyes fluttered open peacefully as she gripped the blankets over her in comfort. Unlike the past few times she had found herself waking up from unconsciousness, she felt no pain or discomfort. It felt like she was just waking up from a good night's sleep.

As she blinked her eyes, she realized that she had no idea where she was. The room a state of the art medical facility, but the walls were different than a normal hospital. It looked like she was in some sort of hidden bunker. _That's weird..._ She thought to herself as she threw the blankets off of her body to inspect closer.

"Miss Logan, please be wary of your shoulder," an even, British voice came from behind her.

"Hey I know you from somewhere, don't I?" she said, recognizing the familiar voice. "Alfred. We met at Bruce Wayne's fundraiser. What are you doing here? Where am I?" LJ looked around wildly, still not knowing what was going on.

"Indeed. Although, I believe I'm not the one to explain this all to you. If you would allow me, I should like to inspect your shoulder one last time before you look for any explanations," as soon as LJ nodded in agreement, Alfred quickly unwrapped her freshly cleaned wound. She could see that her stitches had been replaced with much neater ones and the skin around her injury was less angry. It should heal relatively nicely now.

"You did all this?" She asked, referring to her shoulder.

"Oh no, not me ma'am. That would be someone who has much more personal experience than myself," he drawled as he gave her a shot of something in her shoulder, reapplied some ointment, and rewrapped her arm.

LJ's mind whirled as she started to put pieces of the puzzle together. _Okay let's look objectively. I'm in a hidden storage container. There's only one man I know who frequents caves often enough to have his own artificial one. It must have cost a fortune to build this. Luckily there aren't many billionaires I know who could manage this. And funnily enough, one of them shares the same butler. You've __**got**__ to be kidding me._

"When can I go talk to him?" LJ said with conviction. Alfred knew that she would figure it out, and both Bruce and he decided that it was time. Though Alfred suspected Bruce had personal motives, Alfred knew that it was about time that someone in the police force knew Batman's true identity. She could prove to be an invaluable ally in the future.

"He's reading a letter in his study, he may need a moment to himself though. I'll drive you up to the penthouse in a few minutes," LJ nodded as she recognized the reluctance in his voice. Clearly the letter meant something to Batman that would require time to process.

"So . . ." LJ said, trying to break the awkward silence that had fallen between the two. "The whole playboy thing, that's just an act? I always knew something was off about him, but I didn't think that it was _that_. Especially after I saw him put Dent in that sleeper hold ages ago."

"Ah yes. That was my idea, apologies. Try to give him a second chance; he has many public masks. And none of them reflect his true self. I should know." Alfred gave her a fatherly smile that made her feel instantly at ease.

"No wonder he seemed so nosey, I guess this explains a lot. I need to up my game apparently, I should have picked up on the signs."

"Don't feel too bad about yourself, he's had all of Gotham fooled for much longer than you," he laughed reassuringly.

"Yeah but it's my job to know people. The people of Gotham are just painfully blind." Alfred finished up the final touches on her shoulder and walked over to what looked like a storage closet, retrieving a small bundle.

"What's that?" She asked as he handed her the soft package.

"A change of clothes from your apartment. Our mutual friend made a pit stop after he patched you up." LJ normally would have been mad that someone had rifled through her clothes, but the blood soaked fabric she was wearing now were sticking to her skin. "There's a shower through that door, if you want to wash the rest of the blood off. I'll get your clothes cleaned up."

"Thanks Alfred," she said as she turned toward the room that he had mentioned. She quickly rinsed off and watched as the blood fell down the drain. It made her feel much more rejuvenated and ready to take on the world.

LJ looked at the clothes that Bruce had grabbed and realized that it was the the same outfit that she had been wearing the first day they met after the fundraiser. _Damn, no more running clothes . . . _

"Miss Logan, Master Wayne will see you now."

"Good. I have just a _few_ questions for him," she said sarcastically as they made their way to a hidden elevator hidden in the ground of the large industrial room.

"I must implore you to go easy on him. He just lost a great friend, and I don't know how long it will take him to recover." Alfred's honesty suddenly brought her back to their moment in the debris just hours ago, and realized that her questions could wait. They had unfinished business with the Joker to attend to.

...

As LJ got into Alfred's car, she realized that she wasn't near the main part of Gotham at all. They were in a random, Wayne Enterprises-owned, storage facility. Alfred led her to a somewhat hidden black car around the corner and opened the back door for her.

"This drive will only take a few minutes, I've learned the quickest routes from here to the penthouse. Master Bruce seems to frequent this facility whenever he gets hurt. Which honestly is quite often!" He said jokingly. His soft accent and jovial nature seemed to set LJ at ease as he sped off into early morning traffic.

"So who all knows about Bruce's late night escapades?" LJ asked seriously. She didn't want to trouble Bruce with the small details especially after such a loss. She knew he would be wanting to get justice for Rachel's terrible death and Harvey's gruesome disfiguration. Alfred seemed to be willing to share though, which quenched her natural curiosity.

"Just myself, Lucius Fox, you, and well . . . Rachel did. Lucius works for Wayne Enterprises and supplies Batman with pretty much everything he needs. Other than that, I'm pleased to say my playboy idea has worked like a charm!" Their eyes met as Alfred looked out the rear view mirror, and she could also tell that he was hurting because of Rachel. They must have known each other for a long time.

"I'm sorry," she said in a quiet, sincere tone. She wanted to somehow take everyone's pain away, but that wasn't possible. The only thing that was within her power would be to avenge all the death and destruction the Joker has caused. And hopefully then allow everyone to move forward with their lives.

...

"He's through that door, Miss. Logan." Alfred said once he had led her to the penthouse suite. LJ knew the layout well because of the fundraiser, but everything looked so different. Somehow even Bruce's home seemed more worn.

"Thanks Alfred. For everything." He nodded, and strode off toward the kitchen, leaving LJ to talk to Bruce herself.

She slowly pushed open the door to find a large, almost empty room except for a few modern couches and chairs formed in a square near the windows and a desk in the corner. Apparently he didn't spend much time here. Bruce was sitting away from her, looking out of the large windows and onto the main streets of Gotham. Wordlessly, LJ silently walked over to a chair next to him and sat on the edge, trying to look at what he was seeing as well. The streets of Gotham were uncharacteristically silent. It would seem the Joker's reign of terror had frightened many people into staying inside today. There _had_ been three earth shattering explosions last night. People were probably worried that their work-places were next.

LJ tore her eyes from the window to look at the billionaire beside her, who had yet to realize that she was there. He seemed too deep in thought to notice. _It must be the shock of losing someone so close,_ she thought sympathetically. He was still wearing the kevlar suit, but had not donned the cowl to hid his pained face. It was definitely strange to finally see what she had suspected. The face behind the mask, finally revealed. Somehow, she always thought it would come as a bigger surprise, or she would be more thrilled. But because of the circumstances, she wasn't all too happy.

"I'm sorry for your loss," she said quietly, snapping him out of his silence. He looked surprised to see her there, but not angry. LJ had braced herself for some sort of anger, but it never came. He looked like a man defeated.

He sighed and waited a minute before saying anything. "You would have liked Rachel. She was head strong as well."

She returned a weak smile, remembering meeting her at Harvey Dent's fundraiser. "I know, I met her once. She seemed . . . fiercely loyal."

"You know, you've really got a talent for reading people. For her . . . that was an understatement. She is . . . _was _. . . my closest friend." Bruce's face dropped to look at the cowl that was currently in his lap. "And I let that murdering psychopath-"

"Bruce," LJ said quickly cutting him off. She placed her hand over his that was now grasping at his mask. "Nobody controls what he does. Nobody could have stopped him. _This is not your fault._ And you can't beat yourself up over this." LJ grabbed the cowl from him and held it up for him to see. "I haven't been in Gotham long, but I've read about what you've done with this mask on. You've saved so many lives, stopped so many tragedies. You _cannot_ take the blame for every failure. No matter how personal the loss is to you. The _good_ you've done **far** outweighs the bad to give up now. They call you the "caped crusader", but I don't think that's accurate. You've become _much more_. You're a _reformer_. A hero. Everyone gets hurt Bruce, even the heroes. We've all lost people, but what we do after the loss defines us." LJ's hands dropped to her lap with the cowl.

He lifted his face, the pain no longer looking agonizing in his eyes. "She said almost the exact same thing to me once."

"I think she would have wanted you to remember that instead of beating yourself up for the rest of your life. She doesn't sound like the kind of person to let you wallow in your own sorrow."

He let out a harrowing, short laugh as he remembered a time when that was true. "You're right . . ."

"Well nothing's changed; you still can't wallow. Honor her life, and death, by saving the people she fought to protect. Gotham _needs_ you. They're all suffering too, and we can do something to stop it."

Both LJ and Bruce sat, unmoving in the same spot for a few minutes. LJ could have sworn she saw his lip quiver slightly, but she wasn't going to say anything. He couldn't keep his emotions pent up; LJ had first hand experience with that.

"How did you catch that serial killer last year?" Bruce said huskily, breaking the silence.

"I never gave up," she said without missing a second. Bruce nodded and stood up abruptly. LJ followed suit, stepping between him and the door. She looked down at the cowl in her hands and handed it him. She finally got to take in his imposing figure in the suit. Now that she knew the man behind the mask, she realized how powerful the mask was. As a human, he was breakable; with that mask on, he was invincible.

"You're going to need this," she said as his fingers closed over it.

"I will. But not right now. It's almost light out and we've got work to do," he said before briskly walking out the door and into a hidden door in the wall.

"Wait, where are you going?" She said, peering into the dark passageway.

"You can't expect me to go out in public dressed like this, can you?" His response made LJ freeze. He had made a complete emotional one-eighty. _Men_, she thought sarcastically as she rolled her eyes. _He's just suppressing it, I can tell. _

"Are you coming or not?" He called out from behind the hidden door in the wall. _Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm coming_. _Talk about mood swings._

"Does this mean you trust me now? Or are you just bringing me in here to kill me?" She said, laughing nervously. Though Bruce could change his attitude so quickly, LJ was still left lagging behind. She needed time to suppress everything back to normal.

"Depends, are you going to tell anyone about me?" Bruce said, poking his head out from around the corner. LJ stepped through the threshold and was greeted by a small, well lit room much like the one she had been stitched up in. On the far wall, there were monitors that displayed multiple images of the Joker and his recent attacks.

"Ha, well let me think . . ." LJ laughed sarcastically, earning a smirk from the man across the room. She over-exaggerated her movements as if she was really contemplating turning him in. "Nah, I don't think so."

"Good to hear. Anyways, I brought you in here so you can take a look at what I've compiled about the Joker so far. Which is ultimately . . . nothing. But you can use the computers and see the footage that I've collected. Maybe you'll notice something I haven't. I've got to change, so try not to break anything while I'm gone." With that, Bruce disappeared through another small door opening and LJ turned to the keyboard in front of her. It took a few seconds for her to get accustomed to the different controls, but she managed. Everything seemed to be compiled into a singular data base and everything had been magnified and enhanced. LJ studied the Joker's reactions, his henchmen's mannerisms, and looks for patterns in everything he did. But she ultimately came up blank. She had already gleaned every last bit of evidence from what was on these tapes, but she kept trying.

Eventually Bruce came walking back through the door he had left in, looking clean in his typical businessman garb. "See anything I missed?" He asked, but LJ could tell that he didn't expect her to.

"No, but I think if I tell you about what happened when he abducted me, it might help. I'm guessing you already got your hands on the profile I compiled about the Joker." LJ wouldn't doubt that he had some sort of source to get him that information from the precinct.

"You would be guessing right," he said behind a wide, mischievous smile.

"I don't want to know how you got it . . ." she said, rolling her eyes.

"That sarcasm's going to get you into trouble some day you know!" He countered.

"Urg, don't say that. The Joker said the exact same thing. I think I should just keep my mouth shut for the rest of my life." Bruce's eyes widened apologetically, knowing that he probably brought up some rough memories. He couldn't imagine what could have happened between them. After all, she had been gone for almost two days, and that's a lot of time to endure the Joker's specific kind of torture.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" LJ held out her hand to stop him from apologizing. _I hate apologies_, she mused.

"Don't worry about it, you couldn't have known. Anyways, you want to know everything, right?" He nodded without saying anything. LJ paused before plunging into her story. She collected her thoughts and went right into it. She told him how she saw him at the Mayor's speech, and how he had orchestrated her injury. She told him how she woke up in Arkham Asylum and the psychological torment her put her through. LJ left out most of the responses that she gave him, but she made sure that she mentioned everything he said to her. Even the smallest of things could be a clue. Finally, she chronicled her escape and what happened in the MCU.

Bruce seemed to be hanging onto her every word, analyzing the Joker's methods, and coming to his own conclusions apart from her own. Both agreed that what he had said about taking LJ to the hospital was immensely important. And both of them would have acted on their worries if it had not been for Alfred interrupting their planning.

"You need to see this," he said in a hurry as he diverted their attention to a TV on the wall. He turned the channel to the main news station, showing Mike Engel addressing the camera.

". . . he's a credible source- an M and A lawyer for a prestigious consultancy. He says he's waited as long as he can for the Batman to do the right thing . . ." The camera panned out, revealing someone who Bruce Wayne recognized immediately: Coleman Reese. Reese nodded to the camera in both acknowledgment and agreement.

Engel continues, "Now he's taking matters into his own hands. We'll be live at five with the true identity of the Batman, stay with us . . ."

"Wait a minute . . ." LJ started in disbelief. "I thought you said we were the only ones who really knew. Us and Fox of course."

Bruce shook his head and ran his hands through his hair in aggravation. "I thought Fox took care of it," he mused out loud. He glared at the TV, staring at Reese as he sat there, seeming extremely smug. Once the two men disappeared from the screen and were replaced by commercials, the three viewers tore their eyes from the monitor.

"Do you think he will really do it?" she said, asking the question that was on everyone's mind.

"I guess we'll find out," he sighed. The three moved to the main part of the penthouse as they waited for the news to come back on. _This can't be happening. Especially right after I convinced him that Gotham needs him,_ LJ complained to herself.

After five agonizing minutes, Engel was finally back and was taking callers. The first one was wondering how much they were paying him to reveal who Batman really was, but Reese denied the accusation. LJ rolled her eyes: he was probably being paid a lot by the network.

"Who is this-" Engel said as he answered another call from the viewers.

". . . I've had a vision . . . of a world without Batman. The mob ground out a little profit, and the police tried to shut them down one block at a time. And it was so . . . _boring_. I've had a change of heart. I don't want Mr. Reese spoiling everything, but why should I have _all the fun_. Let's give someone else a chance. If **Coleman Reese** isn't _dead_ in sixty minutes, I _blow up a hospital_."

Alfred, LJ, and Bruce stood in awe as they listened to the Joker make his ultimatum. Even after Alfred switched the TV off, nobody could bring themselves to say anything. Bruce finally was the first person to do so. "I guess we were right about the hospital situation," he said morbidly.

"I have to go help Gordon," LJ said panicking as she turned to Bruce and Alfred.

"I have to go help Reese," Bruce mumbled at the exact same time. Both crime-fighters nodded, having a mutual understanding as they turned toward the elevator.

Alfred moved slowly and laughed as he made his way to the kitchen. "Well . . . I'll just wait here then."

"No Alfred, I'll need your help in the cave."

"Very well, sir."

Before all three leave to do their separate tasks, Bruce turned to LJ and she could see the concern in his eyes. "I need you to be careful," he whispered as he placed his hands almost affectionately on her arms.

LJ laughed, "Don't you ever get tired of saying that?"

"Not to you."

...

"Gordon, I just heard the news. What do you want me to do?" LJ said as her boss answered her call. LJ had left Bruce's penthouse and was in the process of calling a cab. The roads were hellish: people were trying to get as far away from the hospitals as possible, and police cruisers were speeding off toward the possible wreckage sites.

"I need you to get to Gotham General. That's where Harvey Dent is being treated, and I need you to personally make sure he gets evacuated safely."

_That sounds easy enough_, LJ mused as she eased herself into the cab that had sloshed toward her on the side of the street. She offered the cabby a little extra money if he made the drive as quickly as possible, and he enthusiastically obliged.

The hospital was a mess. Hundreds of people were being recklessly ushered out of every possible exit of the facility and into old yellow school busses. LJ had to push past crowds of confused nurses and doctors as they ran up and down the hallways.

"Where's Harvey Dent being kept?" She shouted into a particularly quiet group of nurses. All five of them turned their heads toward her in surprise.

A short mousy nurse finally answered quickly before rushing off to usher more people to safety. "He's in room 213." Her voice rang out in annoyance and anxiety at the same time.

LJ ran up the stairs, looking for the room the nurse had described. As she went up the stairs, the chaos just increased. It seemed like the farther people were from the exits, the more worried they got. _They don't want to die_.

Finally, LJ rounded the corner and was met by an almost deserted corridor. There was merely a lone officer and a red-haired nurse stumbling into the room she was sent to. If the conditions of her mission were different, she may have noticed the nurse's strange gait and how she seemed out of place in that hospital, but LJ was too focused on getting Harvey Dent out of the hospital alive. She had the rest of the hour, but she knew that the Joker never was very reliable. If anything, he would blow up the building early just to watch it burn to the ground with everyone still inside.

LJ had heard what happened to Dent's face, but nothing prepared her for the actual horrific injury. His festering burns crossed his face as black decaying skin hung onto exposed bone by shards of muscle and connective tissue. The smell itself was enough to make anyone gag and run out the door, but LJ knew that she had to save what was left of this man.

She quickly knocked on the door frame, getting the district attorney's attention. A grimace crossed the unmarred side of his face as his lips formed a grotesque half-frown.

"Get out," he growled with pure malice resonating in his voice.

LJ was told that he probably would be like this. The last time Gordon had spoken to him, he was filled with anger and rage. "Mr. Dent, I have to evacuate you from this room." She tried to keep her voice steady and non-threatening, but she was already losing her patience. She was trying to save his life after all.

"You couldn't save Rachel. Why should I let you save me?" Dent's voice seemed to deepen as he said the name of his ex-fiance. She could tell that he wasn't ever going to be able to cope with her death. He was just going to be as self destructive as ever.

LJ looked and realized that his hands were restrained by padded hand cuffs to the railings on his bed. If the time came, she would be able to wheel him out of the hospital without him fighting back.

"You had the chance to kill him; to tip the scales for justice. But you didn't. You let the dog off his leash and now I've lost everything. This is _your fault_." He growled.

Before LJ could say anything, she could heard the nurse shuffle in behind her. Suddenly, she felt a small tug at her belt and saw a hand snatch away her gun that had been securely holstered to her side.

"What the-?" she hissed as she spun around and came face to face with the Joker in a nurse's outfit.

"Har_vey Dent-t_. I _sincerely_ hope you weren't just **threatening**my Lo-_gan_ here. That's, uh, _my job," _he growled as he started flipping the stolen gun around his finger by the trigger.

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**A/N: Sorry for the lack of Joker in this chapter, he'll be in a lot more of the following ones :) Anywho, I'm off to go watch TDKR! I can't wait to go to the premiere tonight! Me and my friends made t-shirts! **


	13. A Big Joke

**A/N: So here's another chapter! Yay! Haha I've been super inspired by TDKR! I saw it again because I thought it was so good :) If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it! Anywho, thank you all for reviewing and subscribing! Love you all! I hope you like this chapter, because I liked writing it!**

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"Don't move toots, my finger _just might slip," _the Joker hissed as he waved her weapon around more wildly. She had seen videos of him shooting people with no hesitation, and she wasn't about to see if he would do the same to her.

LJ put her hands up for a few seconds to show that she wasn't going to do anything hasty. "What are you doing here?" She hissed angrily.

"Oh just catching up with my dear _friend_ Harvey here," he said lazily as he motioned the gun toward the man in agony in the hospital bed. "Why don't ya' wait for me outside, hm gorgeous? The _men_ just have to talk about something little."

"Are you kidding me? I'm not leaving without Harvey," LJ took a threatening step toward the hospital bed, refusing to back down.

The Joker mirrored her movements, sidestepped toward her, and tilted his head. He clicked his tongue against his cheek in disapproval while shaking his head. "You just _don't_ give up, do you? Let me put it _this way_. If you don't wait outside **that** door, I will shoot the cop down the hall." LJ thought for a moment, and realized what she needed to do. She silently slinked out of the room, never taking her angry eyes of of the two men in the room. Once out the door, she made sure that the Joker wasn't looking and sprinted down the hall. She looked in every room , searching for anyone that the Joker could put in harms way. However, it seemed like everyone had evacuated already. LJ turned back around and ran into the officer that she had seen before: the one the Joker had threatened to kill.

"Hey," she said getting his attention and looking at his name tag before continuing, "Officer Richards! I've got Dent, you need to evacuate the rest of the hospital."

He looked confused as he looked behind him. "Detective Johnson, the rest of the hospital _is_ evacuated. We're all that's left."

"I've got Dent then, I'm sure they need all available hands with getting all the patients on the busses. I'm good up here."

"Okay then," the officer said as he spun on his heels to go downstairs, but the sound of a silenced gun rang through the quiet hallway. The precisely aimed bullet shot clear through the officer's turned heart. LJ quickly lunged forward, catching the already dead officer as he fell toward the ground.

"No, no, no, no," she whispered as she checked his pulse hopefully. There was nothing though. He let out a few ragged death gasps, but his eyes had already lost all indications of life. LJ gently lowered him to the floor and shut his eyes gingerly. She silently mourned the fallen man who had become yet another victim of the Joker.

"Alone at _last_," he cackled as he stalked down the hallway toward her. LJ looked up at the Joker with pure anger in her eyes. He had taken off the red wig, but he still had the ridiculous nurse uniform on.

"Where's Harvey Dent," she growled as he yanked her to her feet by her injured shoulder. The constant barrage on her shoulder was really taking its toll on her health. Though Bruce had stitched her up, the scarring tissue was still immensely painful normally, let alone with the Joker's fingers digging into the swollen skin.

"Oh he'll be _fine,_ just you wait and see." LJ jerked away from his grip, hissing as pain shot through the rest of her body. Without hesitation, she swung her other arm to land a strong left hook on his painted face, but her fist never collided with anything solid. Instead, the Joker used LJ's momentum to twist her arm behind her back as he brought a knife to her neck. "I've, uh, learned all your little _tricks_, Lo-_gan_. With that arm of yours, you're _completely_ help**less** against _me_. Might as well sit back, relax-ah, and just _enjoy the show_."

LJ sighed in defeat, knowing that she wouldn't be able to overpower him again like usual. "Where are we going?" she groaned as he pushed her toward the elevator. Her arm was still twisted behind her back but he dropped the knife from her throat.

"_Some-_body's demanding today, hm? Well, you're what I like to call **insurance**." Neither of them said anything as the elevator descended to the ground floor. The Joker was humming an unrecognizable tune that gave LJ the chills. Before the door could open, he started to fiddle around with something in his pocket. Simultaneously, suddenly he slid his other hand from behind her down her waist and to the front of her body.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she hissed as the Joker's breath irritated her cheek. His hand slipped into her pocket slowly and fished out her phone.

"Tying up loose _ends_," he growled against her cheek. As the elevator door opened, he tossed her phone behind them, leaving the only chance of Gordon tracking her in a building that was going to explode soon.

"Maybe you should walk _a little_ faster. The building _is_ going to **explode**," he said as he pushed her harder out of the door. The knife was back at her throat and the what looked like a detonator was in his other hand. Once they were far enough away from the hospital, the Joker paused, forcing LJ to stop moving forward. She could feel the knife knick her throat just enough to draw a small line of blood.

The Joker seemed to notice the small amount of blood seeping down her neck and laughed. His attention shifted from from the detonator to his precious knife. He hummed that odd sounding tune again and inhaled the scent of her blood from the bloody instrument. That only held his attention for a few seconds before he silenced himself and returned to the detonator. With jittery hands, he spontaneously pressed the muted red button multiple times as if he couldn't hold his excitement.

Suddenly, staggered explosions violently burst the windows of hospital behind them and LJ could feel the fiery heat lick against her turned back. Before she could turn and look at the unimaginable damage, the Joker was already pulling her toward a waiting school bus. The emergency door was already wide open as the Joker skipped toward it and thrust her into the bus. LJ would have fallen if she hadn't caught her own fall with her good arm. She held onto one of the bus seats for support as the Joker forcibly shut the exit and latched it closed. _Damn my shoulder_, she growled in her head angrily. LJ felt so helpless, and she hated it. She had never felt so angry at herself in her life; LJ had made a vow to herself a long time ago that she wouldn't let herself get into a situation like this, and she sure as hell wasn't going to die knowing that she could have done something to keep her dignity. _Damn my shoulder, damn this bus, and damn the Joker!_

"Come on gorgeous, you get the good seat. _With me!_" His horrific laugh filled the confined space of the bus. Screams filled the bus as LJ realized that half of the seats were filled with nurses and doctors. The other half would have seemed like ordinary citizens if it had not been for the clown masks in their laps. Once they realized their leader was among them, they donned the dirty masks and pulled out guns, forcing the doctors to stay in their seats.

"Keep 'em in their places boys, I've got a _special_ guest to entertain," he cackles as he skipped toward the front of the bus. He nodded to the bus driver to signal him to start driving.

"You better not hurt them Joker," she hissed threateningly, motioning toward the doctors.

"Oh no, no, no, I _need_ them alive." LJ shuddered at the thought of the Joker needing people for his plan. He shook his head violently as he grabbed her hand violently and yanked her into a seat. Her back collided with the grimy window of the bus, leaving her distracted for a moment. In that moment, the Joker slid into the seat beside her, effectively trapping her within the brown, fake leather disintegrating bus benches.

"What are you planning?" She said calmly, refusing to show the Joker that he was slowly breaking down her dignity.

His head tilted as a devious smile crossed his face. "What-t?" He clucked sarcastically in his sing-songy voice. "You don't already _know?_ I thought you pro-_filers_ knew every**thing**."

She sighed in annoyance before saying anything. She straightened herself out, and busied herself with adjusting the bandages on her arm. Without looking up at him, she finally responded, "I've found that it's particularly hard to predict the musings of a psychopath of your caliber."

"Oh toots, I'm _thrilled_ that you think so **highly** of me." He pinched her cheek in distorted affection as he laughed again.

LJ turned her head away from his tightening fingers to look out the window. The bus seemed to be heading right into the center of Gotham City, near the docks.

"Lo-gan, _look at me_. You can't get bo_ring_ on me **now**! Why do you think I keep ya' around? You're just too much . . . _fun_. Tell me, how's Batsy doing, hm?" A scowl replaced his mocking smile from before as he slid his arm around her waist and forcefully pulled her to his body tightly. "I saw you two . . . _together._ Seemed a little, **intimate **to me."

"He saved my life, I saved his. I was just repaying a favor, and doing what's right. But you wouldn't know anything about that would you?" LJ's voice resonated with annoyance.

"So does that mean _you_ owe **me** a favor now? I did, uh, just save you from an _exploding hospital_."

"Yeah, a hospital that _you_ blew up. I don't owe you anything."

"Oh I _disagree_. I'll come up with some_thing_, don't you worry your pretty little _head."_

"Yeah_ okay_," she said sarcastically. LJ would rather die than do anything to help the Joker.

It was clear that she wasn't entertaining him as much ash he had wanted, so to occupy his time he grabbed the knife from his pocket and started to glide it across her clothed arm. It didn't penetrate her blazer, but it did give her an unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach. The knife ran from her shoulder down to her waist and then to her thighs. LJ didn't dare move, just in case the knife slipped and did actually draw blood. Again.

Suddenly, the knife strokes stopped and the Joker sat up straight and looked out the window. "We're he-ere!" he sang as a large sky scraper came into view. He held onto LJ's arm as he stood up, forcing her to follow him. "You know what to do," he growled quietly to the bus driver. The man nodded in agreement as he pulled to a stop. The Joker pulled LJ with him out into the darkened street. She observed the side of the building and realized they were entering the Prewitt Building that had been under construction for the past year. Honking and yelling from around the corner suddenly snapped her attention away from the building they had entered. The Joker dragged her to the elevator, but not before she saw cars speeding toward a bridge away from Gotham.

"What's going on?" she asked curiously. She didn't really expect him to answer her though.

"Oh I may have sent in a _home movie_ to some TV stations, just letting the _innocent civilians_ of Gotham know that this city is **mine.** Apparently they don't want to _play_ my little . . . **game**."

"You _what?" _she said, horrified.

"What? I was just _playing fair_! Don't worry, the **fun**'s not _over yet._ The best is yet. to. come!"

The elevator door opened to reveal the top floor of the messy building. He immediately walked over to the windows, dragging her with him. He acted like she wasn't even there, but his grip on her arm never faltered. He reached into his ridiculous purple overcoat and fished out a stack of messily written notecards and a phone. He flipped the phone open and cleared his throat as he looked out at the ferries in the river.

"Tonight, you're all going to be part of a _social experiment_. Through the **magic** of diesel fuel and ammonium nitrate, I'm ready right now to blow you all _sky high_." LJ gasped in horror and glared at the Joker with distain. She stared out into river, feeling immensely terrible for the poor people on those boats. "Anyone attempts to get off their boat, _you all die . . ._ But we're going to make things a _little more interesting_ than that. Tonight, we're going to learn a little bit about ourselves . . . There's no need for all of you to **die**. That would be a _waste_. So I've left you both a little _present_. Each of you has a remote to _blow up_ the other boat. At midnight, I blow you all up! If, however, one of you presses the button, I'll let that boat live. _You choose_. So who's it going to be- Harvey Dent's most wanted scumbag collection . . . or the _sweet, innocent_ civilians." He paused as if the soak in the excitement of his plan before finishing his monologue. "Oh, and you might want to decide quickly, because the people on the other boat may not be _quite so noble._"

The Joker fidgeted with the phone and violently snapped it shut and threw it carelessly behind him. "We've got the best spot to see the _fireworks_, beautiful! I can't _wait._"

"Not everyone is as twisted as you. They won't press the buttons." LJ's voice was barely a whisper. She was too exhausted to say anything more. It felt as though the Joker had sucked all of the life out of her.

"You would be, uh, _surprised_ what people would do to save their own lives-ah."

LJ was about to contradict him, but the floor shuddered and snapped her attention elsewhere. She could hear the sound of resounding bullets, but she couldn't see what was happening out the window. She knew in her gut that it was all a part of the Joker's plan.

"Oh _goody_, Batsy's here, just in time for the _show._ Don't worry gorgeous, we've got a few minutes _alone_. I've, uh, laid a few **obstacles**," The Joker laughed as he waved the detonator in the air as if to threaten her. He knew that she wouldn't fight back if the lives of citizens were literally in his hands. She would have to get the detonator away from him before midnight rolled around. LJ really hoped that she was right; that the people on the ferries really wouldn't press their respective detonators as well.

"What did you do to him?" she asked defensively.

A mischievous frown crossed his face as he started to stalk toward her. LJ backed up slowly, refusing to get any closer than necessary. "Ya' know, if I didn't _know_ any bett_er_, I would **think** that you had f**ee**lings for that _freak_-ah."

"Ex_cuse me_?" she said, bewildered. Her back slammed against the wall behind her; she couldn't back away any further.

A smile replaced the scowl on the Joker's face as he inched forward one step at a time. "I'm, uh, not a jealous _guy_, Lo_gan_. I just don't like to _share_."

LJ held her hand up to threaten him if he got any closer, but that didn't seem to faze him. He grabbed her wrists and pinned them to the cold, hard wall above her head. The only thing that kept her from freaking out was the fact that he had slipped the detonator into his pocket. She would have to somehow get it away from him before midnight.

"Let. Go," she hissed as his fingers tightened around her wrists.

"Uhh, let me think . . . nope!" The almost child-like response sent chills down LJ's back as it was juxtaposed with his menacing voice. Though she had been trained to never give up, for once in her life she didn't know what to do. The embodiment of pure evil was standing in front of her and was taunting her. She would have felt completely hopeless except for the fact that they both knew that Batman was on his way. LJ didn't like having to rely on others for help, but this was an extenuating circumstance.

"What did you do to Batman?" She asked, indignantly. Even though she felt like giving up, felt like letting go, and felt like losing hope, she knew that if she acted brave she would be able to at least fake it. And if that gave her courage, then that's all she needed.

"It's _all_ business with you, hm? How about some, uh, _pleasure._ You've got to relax a little. Maybe even stop and smell the _gasoline_. Life's too **short** ta' be waiting around for one freak in black. _Especially when all you've got is me_." With that, the Joker dropped her wrists, but didn't back away. Instead he suddenly crashed his scarred lips possessively over LJ's soft pink ones. The moment she realized what he was doing, she fought back. She clamped her jaws shut tightly and gritted her teeth in pure rage. With her good arm, LJ tried to shove him off of her, but that just seemed to encourage him more. One of his arms constricted around her narrow waist like a snake, forcing her body onto his rigid one. The other slid from her thigh, up her waist, and onto the back of her neck. He held her against him with brutal force, and effectively trapped her useless arms between their bodies. LJ refused to give in even as him tongue ran across her bottom lip. The foreign touch made her stomach clench in revulsion, but he was unrelenting. When she refused to respond, it only made him move more ungently. She could feel the muscles in his torso and arms tighten in frustration as he moved his hand from behind her neck to her cheek. The Joker backed her completely against the wall, freeing his hand from having to hold her still. Instead, he used his knees on either side of her legs to prevent her from writhing away.

He broke away for a second, positioning his forehead against hers and looking her straight into the eyes. LJ could feel the raised scar tissue on his cheeks brush against her own unflawed skin. "_Just give into the madness,_" he growled before crashing his lips onto hers one last time.

But this time, he was ready for her silent protests; he moved the hand that had once been on her cheek to her nose and pinched, cutting off all her airways. Unable to breath, LJ's eyes widened in fear. She knew it was only a matter of time before she would black out if she didn't get a breath of air. Stars began to dance across her eyelids as he slid his tongue across her clenched lips once again. Unable to control her need to breath, LJ opened her mouth slightly to gasp for air. Though she did sooth her aching lungs as they filled with oxygen, the Joker took this opportunity to shove his tongue into her open mouth and trace the lining of her cheeks. She tried to desperately close her mouth, but the Joker yanked her hair back, making her gasp in pain.

LJ felt completely violated, and there was nothing she could do about it. It was as if he was in her mind, instead of the other way around. She knew that he was trying to break her all along, but she wasn't going to let it. She wasn't going to give up on herself.

Pushing through the anger and pain, LJ did the only thing she could do: she bit down. Hard. He seemed to anticipate that and started to pull away, but it was too late. She could taste the metallic tang of blood in her mouth as the Joker pulled away, grinning. Red gore was dripping down his bottom lip from where she drew the blood. The Joker grinned as he licked the liquid off his own lips without taking his eyes off of LJ.

She quickly took advantage of his preoccupation and kneed him wherever she could reach. He doubled over in laughter rather than pain as she twisted from his vice grip and scrambled as far away from him as possible. She picked up a metal rod from the construction area and held it out in front of her for protection.

"Well _that was fun_-ah!" He said in between cackles. "You know L-Jayyy, this would go a lot _easier_ if you just saw the world how I do. Like a **joke**." He started to circle around her like a lion and its prey. It vaguely reminded her of the fundraiser when everything used to be so simple. _How naive I was back then_, she mused to herself.

"**You** spend your _whole, _uh, life, "saving" these so called "grateful" people. And yet, _here they are_, getting ready to blow each other sky high! You see, life's a joke. And now being _crazy_ is the only thing that makes . . . any . . . sense! All people need is _one bad day_, and you'll see the world for what it really is. Filth. It's fate's _practical joke: _you law-abiders have an, uh, _idealized_ sense of hum-_anity_. You see in black and white, but in **reality**, it's all shades of gray, splattered with _red_! Human nature is a great _big _hoax, you'll see. I'm going to _show you_!"

"I don't believe you," she said through gritted teeth. "They haven't made their decisions yet. Just you wait. There _are_ good people in this city, and **that** gives me hope. Not everyone is as crazy as you." The Joker clenched his jaw in anger. LJ was proving harder to break than he had originally thought. Before he could say anything to contradict her, a flash of black caught his attention.

"She's right," a deep voice from the darkness came, indicating Batman's arrival. LJ's heat rate started to calm in relief, knowing that she wasn't going to be fighting this war alone anymore.

"Ah you made it! I'm so thrilled," he hissed bitterly as the caped crusader stepped out into the light. LJ could tell that he was already exhausted, and that this was going to be a tough fight for the both of them.

"Where's the detonator?" He growled as he pulled LJ behind him protectively. She could see a jealous flash of anger cross the Joker's eyes before he leaned toward a closet door and almost ripped it off its hinges. Three snarling, black dogs slinked out of their cage and looked to the Joker for a command.

"Go get him!" The dogs quickly obeyed their master and leapt toward Batman, trying to latch onto the hardened Kevlar plating of his suit. Batman quickly brushed them off and sent them flying to the floor, but that wasn't before they smashed him to the ground. The Joker seemed to have forgotten about LJ as he marched over and brutally hit Batman with a pipe he picked up from the floor. She immediately spun into action, seeing how much pain Bruce was in. LJ held her own pipe in her hand and swung it like a bat into the Joker's side, making him growl out in pain and drop his own weapon. Batman used this momentary lapse of attention and kicked the Joker to the other side of the room. Once he was free from the Joker, Batman flung the guard dogs off of him and jumped to his feet.

Batman's success only lasted for a moment before the Joker was back and fighting harder than ever. He violently pummeled the vigilante with the same lead pipe, and LJ watched in horror as Bruce fell into some construction netting. The next few seconds flew by as the Joker continued to strike him. Batman flew backwards, through the window. Glass flew everywhere around them as the joker kicked out a wooden brace holding up the steel frame. The frame landed on Batman's chest, pinning him to the ground. The Joker leaned over him, making sure that he couldn't get up.

_No, no, no!_ LJ yelled to herself. _It's not supposed to happen like this! I have to do something._

"If we don't stop fighting, we're going to miss the _fireworks,"_ the Joker said calmly. His hands jittered in anticipation as he looked out onto the ferries. LJ saw this as her opportunity. If she was ever going to get the detonator away from the Joker, it was now. His jacket was flying back in the wind, exposing the open pocket that held the weapon of mass destruction. She carefully snuck forward, making sure she didn't step on any of the shards of glass. _Remember what you were taught. Use your two longest fingers, not your thumb. Stay calm Logan, you can do this. _LJ quickly reassured herself as she got closer and closer to the Joker. She had been taught to be a pretty good pick-pocket when she was younger. It was part of her survival training, but she had never needed to use it until now.

"There won't _be _any fireworks," Batman grunted from underneath the steel frame. His breath was ragged and seemed exhausted.

"And here, we, _go_," the Joker sang, using his hand to gesture toward the boats as if they were going to blow up any second. LJ turned to the clock, seeing that it was already midnight, and they hadn't done anything. Hope spread through her body, knowing that there were good people left out there. This hope urged her to act quicker and get the detonator. Now that the Joker saw that the citizens of Gotham weren't as crazy as he was, he was going to blow them up himself.

LJ felt her heart beat up her throat as she was merely a few inches away from her mark. The Joker was too preoccupied to notice, but Batman saw her. She could physically see the worry in his eyes, so she gave him a weak smile and a nod. He continued to talk, trying to keep the Joker's attention on the ferries.

"What were you hoping to prove? That deep down, we're all as ugly as you?" As Batman spoke slowly, LJ dropped her steady hand into the Joker's open pocket. She could feel the cold metal on her two slim fingers. That touch of hope gave her the confidence needed to finish her task. She quickly inched further and pinched her fingers together, pulling the detonator up with her hand. As she backed away, she could see the smile disappearing from the Joker's face as the realization set in. He would have to accept some sort of defeat, and realize how truly alone he really was.

"You're alone," Batman said, reiterating LJ's point.

"Can't rely on anyone these days," the Joker growled as he reached into his pocket to search for the detonator. "Have to do everything yourself, **don't we**!" He yelled through gritted teeth. "That's okay, I came prepa-" He started, but never finished his sentence as he searched his jacket for the detonator. LJ could see the frustration cross his face as he slowly turned around to see her holding the small device that he had been looking for, in her hands. She clung to it like her life depended on it, and she would do anything to keep it away from the Joker.

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**A/N: So I have a serious question that needs answering: I really want to keep writing this story about the Joker once he's caught and how he goes through the legal system and stuff (of course including LJ and Batman!), but idk if I should end this story where the movie ends and make a sequel OR just keep writing it as this story. Tell me what you guys think! It might just be easier to keep it as all one story. And also I want to write a story about TDKR, but I feel like it's too perfect for me to like change at all. And it would be a little harder since I've only seen that movie twice, whereas I own the other two movies and probably have seen them hundreds of times. Anyways, leave me your thoughts in the reviews! Also, I would love to hear what you guys thought of TDKR! I loved it (haha obviously!) **


	14. Militaristic Ideals

**A/N: Hey guys, sorry for the long wait! I've been really busy getting ready to go back to college and stuff! And I did start another story, but I plan on finishing this one before I really put all my efforts into that one, so don't worry :) The story is called "Hidden in Code" if you want to check it out. It's set in TDKR, and it's Blake/Barbara. So not really an original character, but sort of. Anywho, sorry again, and I'm definitely going to update more this week! Hopefully two chapters this week to make up for the wait!**

**Thank you everyone who reviewed: Veroar7, stefanskoala, shakaka, The Lady Moriarty, Zeny, Operating Under a Codename, PolarLuv, and imaninja! You all brighten my days :) Also- Shakaka I just reread my past chapters and I totally know what you mean! Ahh I'm so embarrassed for my bad writing! Haha I haven't really been editing my chapters lately, so I'm SO GLAD you pointed that out! Thanks for the really long review! And I definitely paid more attention this time :)**

* * *

"Lo_gan_," The Joker hissed through his teeth angrily. "Be a _doll_ and _**give me**__ the detonator_." He was still holding the iron frame over Batman so he couldn't get up, but LJ could tell that he wouldn't be able to hold him down much longer. The vigilante took advantage of his momentary lapse of attention and quickly pressed something on his forearm.

The scallop blades from his suit shot out the gauntlet and plowed into the Joker's chest and arm. Finally freed, Batman leapt up and kicked the Joker over the edge of the building. LJ gasped suddenly realizing that he was falling to his death. She could even hear him giggle as he fell, as if he was enjoying the ride.

Batman acted quickly. He leaned over the ledge and fired the grapple gun from his utility belt toward the falling clown. LJ watched in confusion as he hoisted the Joker back up the building. His horrifying laughter filled the top floor as Batman collapsed in exhaustion.

LJ rushed over to her friend's side and made sure he was all right. The dogs had managed to take a few bites out of him and the Joker's beating wasn't helping either. She helped him up as well as she could without straining her own arm. He grunted in exhaustion but still managed to lean against the wall for support. LJ knew he was intrinsically thankful for her help, but she also knew he would never say that out loud. They had both come to a silent agreement that neither of them would have to show their gratitude.

"Just couldn't _let me go_, could you? I guess this is what happens when an _unstoppable_ force meets two _immovable_ objects. You both truly are incorruptible, aren't you?" He giggled as he swung upside down and laughed even more. "Neither of you will kill _me _out of some misplaced sense of _self-righteousness_ . . . and I won't kill you because you're just too much _fun_. I think we're going to do this forever."

"You'll be in a padded cell, _forever,_" Batman growled as LJ continued to support some of his heavy body weight. The Joker eyed the contact between his two enemies and scowled.

"Maybe we can share it. They'll need to double up, the rate this city's inhabitants are losing their minds . . ."

"_This _city just showed you it's full of people ready to believe in _good_," Batman countered. It seemed like he was easily gaining his strength back as their conversation went on.

The Joker looked at them both mischievously. The look in his eyes told them that he had one more trick up his sleeve.

"'Till their spirit breaks _com-pletely_. Until they find out what I did with the best of them. Until they get a good look at the _real_ Harvey Dent, and all the heroic things he's done. Then those criminals will be _straight_ back onto the streets and Gotham will understand the true nature of heroism. You didn't think I'd risk losing the battle for the soul of Gotham in a fist fight with you? You've got to have an ace in the hole. Mine's Harvey."

Batman stumbled from LJ's support and stood facing the Joker. "What did you do," he growled in his menacing voice.

"I took Gotham's white knight. And brought him down to our level. It wasn't hard- madness is like **gravity**. All it takes is a little _push,_" the clown cackled as he swung from grapple hook. LJ quickly stalked up to Batman and placed her hand on his Kevlar coated shoulder.

"Go find Harvey. You can't be here when SWAT arrives anyways. I've got the clown," she mumbled reassuringly. Batman tore his eyes from the psychopath and nodded without saying anything. LJ watched as he stormed toward the center of the building and out of sight.

"You lost Joker, it's finally over," LJ said, her voice flooded with relief.

"I, uh, wouldn't be too _sure_ if I were you!" She could hear SWAT coming up the stairs as she stepped toward the edge of the building.

"You think that because you _claimed_ that this city was _yours_ that means you actually won? You're delusional. Batman will stop Harvey, and you will be in Blackgate, serving multiple life sentences. I'll make sure of it."

"We'll see about that," he sang as this coat swung in the wind. He seemed to be enjoying hanging there as if he hadn't lost anything at all.

Finally, the SWAT team stormed into the building, training their guns of the Joker's every move. LJ yelled out orders, "Cut him down, make sure the restraints are tight, pat him down. He's not escaping this time." The leader nodded in understanding as the SWAT team got to work.

"Where's Gordon?" LJ asked one of the officers who had showed up later.

"He got a call from his wife, he had to leave earlier." A sinking feeling filled her gut, thinking of what the Joker had said about Harvey Dent. If he went after Gordon's family, she knew there would be hell to pay. "Looks like you're in charge until he gets back."

"Bring him straight to Blackgate to hold him for the time being until we can get everything sorted out," she yelled at the officers who were easily overpowering the restrained clown. "Like Gordon said earlier: we can't give his mob lawyer anything to use. Everything has to be by the book."

LJ could hear the Joker cackling even as they were dragging him into the elevator and out into the heavily armored SWAT vans.

...

LJ knew that she had to personally make sure that the Joker made it to Blackgate, or else she would have no sense of personal satisfaction. She had to know that he was locked up tight before she could relax and move on.

The ride to the prison went by smoothly, but she couldn't imagine what kind of verbal abuse the SWAT members were suffering at the Joker's expense. LJ felt like she had just run a marathon, and this was the final mile. Everything was going to be over soon, and she was counting down the hours.

She could see the looming prison in the horizon and the knot that had progressively built up in her stomach was finally unwinding. Blackgate Prison seemed to be made to look sinister for every passer-by. The dark stone, though it looked decrepit, was impenetrable. That made it the best place to house someone like the Joker; somewhere that was dismal and where there was no chance of escape.

...

"Detective Johnson, we were told you would be coming. Please wait with the rest of your team," a large security guard said as she flashed her badge to get into Blackgate.

"Where's he being held?" She demanded, wanting to see the Joker locked in his cell.

"He's going through the booking process now. From what I've heard, he's being _difficult_. So it might take an hour or so."

"An hour? What do you guys do here?" she asked calmly. She didn't want to seem to be criticizing their work. Obviously whatever they did works, they had no recorded breakouts since their inception.

"Blackgate was founded on somewhat - militaristic - ideals. Inmates are showered down, shaved, and changed into their prison uniforms right upon entering. We like to think it establishes uniformity and control. I don't, uh, think the Joker wants them to wipe off the paint on his face . . ." LJ rolled her eyes, imagining the poor prison security guards trying to get close enough to his face to wipe all the grease off. She couldn't even imagine the fight he would put up when they brought shears even close to his oily green hair. LJ laughed, thinking about how much she would pay to see that.

...

After about twenty minutes, the same guard from before finally got LJ from where she was waiting. During that time, she had called Gordon to see if everything was okay. The conversation didn't last very long; it turns out he didn't want to talk about it over the phone. That didn't make her feel much better. He did let her know that Harvey was stopped, and that's all that mattered.

"He's in interrogation room A. Three guards will be stationed outside the door, but he _is_ handcuffed to the chair and the chair is bolted to the cement floor. You have nothing to worry about Detective."

"I've learned not to underestimate the Joker . . . Speaking of, I thought you said booking him was going to take longer. Did something do wrong?"

"He, uh, seemed to calm down once he learned you were waiting to interrogate him," he said matter-of-factly as he gestured to the interrogation room. _Of course, _she thought sarcastically. She was really getting sick of his little obsession. LJ quickly straightened her appearance as she waited for the door to be unlocked. "You ready?" He asked, reaching for his key card to unlock the door.

"Ready as I'll ever be, I guess," she muttered. LJ tried to mentally prepare herself what was going to happen in that room. What she wanted was closure; another case finished, but she knew that wasn't going to happen.

"If you need help, anything at all, just radio us with this walkie talkie," the guard handed her a small device that clipped right onto her jeans.

"Open it up," she said with faked enthusiasm. LJ knew this wasn't going to be the last time she saw the Joker since she probably had to be a witness in his trial, but that didn't stop her from wanting to get it over with.

The ominous sound of latches unclasping filled the room. The heavy iron door swung open and LJ cringed as the rusty hinges screeched loudly.

...

The man sitting across the table was almost barely recognizable as the man who had terrorized Gotham for the past few weeks. His face was surgically clean, making his scars seem impossibly more prominent. His once oily green hair was buzzed short and his ridiculous purple suit was replaced with a blood-red prison uniform.

"So whaddya' think? I, uh, don't know if red is really my _color_," he said as he straightened out his uniform. He was clearly uncomfortable and on edge.

LJ shook her head as she sat down opposite him and leaned forward. "I'm surprised you didn't put up more of a fight," she muttered honestly.

"In my line of work-ah, you learn to _pick your fights_ wisely. Plus, I just couldn't wait to see you, gorgeous!" He cackled mischievously. His hands seemed to jitter more as they spent more time in the same room. _Just get this over with LJ, pull yourself together_.

LJ rolled her eyes with enthusiasm before continuing. "I'm sure . . . And what _are_ you saving your energy for?"

The Joker shook his head as if to chide her for asking the wrong question. "Ya' know, I always _knew_ Harvey would be the first to **break**-ah. He, uh, had the _most to lose_. Though I did hope . . ."

"Sorry to break it to you, but Harvey was stopped before he could do any _major_ damage. Gotham will never know about what you did to him. Or what he did," LJ paused mournfully, thinking of all the good Harvey had done for Gotham, and what he got in return. _Nobody deserves to be put through that much hell, _she mused sadly. _Especially someone who was as good as him._

The Joker's face faltered as what she said sunk in. He wasn't one who was used to losing. "Well then-ah, I guess all I've got left is, uh, _you_." His disappointment was quickly replaced by a smirk as he leaned back in his chair and inspected his freshly cut and scrubbed fingernails angrily.

"I'm going to make sure you don't see much of _anyone_ in here. Let alone me," she said with conviction. It felt good to finally see the Joker on the losing side. The disintegration of his painted guise seemed to be the final step of beating him. It made him just another demented psychopath, instead of some inhuman killer. In Blackgate, he would fade into the background, and eventually Gotham would forget about him.

"They **can't** keep us apart-ah," he said in his sing-songy voice as his smile pushed his scars further up his cheeks.

"I'm done with this _game_, Joker. I'm done with you. I'm only here now to read you your rights and sign your booking sheet for the records. The only time you'll see me is at your trial, and that's it. I'm here for my own good. I want my last memory of you to be you rotting away in your cell for the rest of your life. Then I'm going to forget about you, and _move on_." LJ stood up before he could say anything else and picked up the clip-board from the basket on the wall to sign the form at the bottom.

"Logan, Logan, Lo-gan. You _really_ think you'll be able to _forget_ about little ole' me? No. _No!_ I'll make sure of it. They can't keep us **apart**. And neither can _you_." The Joker struggled against his restraints, but they kept him at bay. LJ looked up as she put the clip board back onto the wall, and her eyes met the Joker's own. Even without the pitch black makeup lining his face, his eyes seemed to be pitch black. Anger radiated off of his tense muscles as he glared at her.

Instead of acknowledging what he said, LJ started to read him his rights. It was time for her to get her closure.

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do can and will be held against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand these rights I have just read to you?" She stated robotically.

The Joker didn't say anything. Instead, he just looked up at her ruefully. She knew he understood her, so she nodded and too a step toward him. LJ knew that it was procedure to check the restraints before leaving, and in his case it was mandatory. She was going to do everything in her power to make sure he never killed again.

As she got closer to the prisoner, she could feel his eyes on her body as she moved. Small shivers went down her back as she finally got close enough to double check the locks. LJ gently tugged at the chains behind his back and was relieved when everything seemed to be just as tight as when they were first secured.

"Reminds you of our, uh, first _date_, hmm? Except I think _you_ were in the handcuffs-ah."

LJ let out a sound of disgust as she stood up to leave. She didn't even want to dignify what he said with an answer. When she didn't say anything, the Joker started to hum cheerlessly as his eyes trained on LJ's every move.

"I _will s_ee ya' soon toots, I **guarantee** it." LJ refused to look back at him. Instead, she kept her head held high and marched out of the interrogation room for what she thought would be the last time.

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**A/N: So what did you guys think? I know a lot of this chapter was stuff that happened in TDK already, but I have a lot of original shenanigans planned for the next few chapters! Please review! **


	15. Arkham Island

**A/N: So here's a surprisingly long chapter, as promised. I love the ending, just wait :) Also, thank you all for the awesome reviews! All of your kind words really inspire me to write! **

As soon as she could leave Blackgate Penitentiary, LJ did. Though she wanted to see the Joker locked up in his cell, she knew it had to wait until after the trial. Too much had happened in the last few weeks, and she needed to make sense of her life. Too long had the Joker plunged her life into chaos, and too long had she let him. Now it was her turn to take control and survive.

"Detective Johnson, how did you do it?"

"Detective Johnson, is this the end of the Joker's reign of terror?"

"Detective Johnson-"

"Detective-"

Camera flashes blinded her as she stepped out of the prison and into the main parking lot. Reporters yelled her name in all directions and swarmed her like mosquitoes. _Damn vultures_, she growled to herself.

"No comment!" she hissed loud enough for most of them to hear. Though they stopped calling her name, they still took hundreds of pictures as she stalked into her car.

LJ drove straight to her apartment without making any stops. All she wanted to do was take a shower and sleep away the past few weeks. She knew it would be impossible, but she was going to damn well try to forget the Joker and the hell he put her through.

...

The next morning, LJ woke to light streaming through her windows. She groggily glanced at her alarm clock and realized that it was almost noon. LJ wasn't surprised that she had slept so long, after all she hadn't slept in what felt like days.

After another shower and a hot breakfast, LJ started to throw her clothes across her bed recklessly. She didn't have a lot since she didn't bring much, but it still took over an hour. All she knew was that she couldn't stay in this apartment much longer. She would always see ghosts of the Joker from the night he had tried to abduct her, and that would prevent her from moving on. She had to leave. LJ had already called into work letting Gordon know she wouldn't be coming into the MCU today. She needed time to look for a new apartment; one that wouldn't haunt her for the rest of her time her in Gotham City.

...

"Fancy seeing you here," the unmistakable voice of Bruce Wayne came from behind her. LJ was just in the process of signing a new lease on a small condo in the heart of Gotham. It was much like her last one, but closer to the MCU.

"You do know that stalking's illegal, right?" she said jokingly.

He gave her his patented arrogant smirk and walked over to see what she was doing. LJ noticed he was walking with a slight limp.

"What's wrong with your side?" she hissed under her breath so nobody else in the room could hear.

Bruce leaned over to mutter in her ear, "Come back to my place and I'll tell you." LJ rolled her eyes and gave him a chiding look to express her annoyance. She ignored his playboy act and finished signing her lease and walked toward her car. He struggled to keep up with her at first but soon overtook her and stood in between her and her car. He leaned against the black vehicle nonchalantly and smirked again.

"I wasn't kidding about coming over. Alfred's cooking, and we have a lot to talk about." LJ paused for a second, but her curiosity overcame her annoyance.

"Fine, but you get to answer _all_ of my questions," she said fiercely.

"After you," he said, gesturing to his car arrogantly.

"I have my own car. I'll just follow you," she said, standing her own ground. Even though she knew he was Batman now, that didn't give him the right to act like an arrogant playboy around her.

...

LJ maneuvered her car down the winding road after Bruce's Lamborghini. Luckily, she had already known the way to his penthouse; he had driven so fast that she had lost him a few times. She quickly put her car in park in the lot and gathered her bag. Bruce rasped his knuckles on her window and gesture for her to follow him. LJ rolled her eyes at his impatience and shoved the door open and stalked after him.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're a very _charming_ man," she growled sarcastically. She could hear him chuckle in front of her as he held the elevator open before punching the button for the penthouse suite.

Bruce smirked again and threw his hand over his heart, "Ouch."

LJ smirked and leaned toward his neck to whisper into his ear, "And here I thought Batman was tough."

"Watch it," he said smiling smugly down at her.

The elevator _dinged_ as the doors slid open. Cold air quickly rushed into the elevator shaft and sent chills down her back. It vaguely reminded her of being in Arkham Asylum with the Joker. She flinched slightly in remembrance, but quickly repressed the memory and stepped into the all too familiar penthouse.

"You okay?" he asked, shedding the playboy act and seemed genuinely concerned.

"Yeah, just bad memories is all," she admitted honestly.

Bruce's back stiffened as he realized what his penthouse meant to her. It was the defining moment between her and the Joker; when he sprouted his little distorted obsession. He gently put his hand on her shoulder apologetically and led her toward the kitchen.

When Bruce said that Alfred was cooking, that was an understatement. It seemed like he had laid out a feast for many more than just two people. Though, Alfred had conveniently disappeared once they had arrived. He had even set out two spots at a small table in the corner of the kitchen for the two to talk.

LJ followed Bruce's lead as they both filled their plates. Her plate was much more sparse than Bruce's since she had found she had lost her appetite after being confined in Arkham.

"Not hungry?" he said, as she poked at her food.

"No, I've been pumped with so many drugs this past week . . . I think it's done something to my stomach." She shrugged nonchalantly, speared a piece of fruit, and popped it in her mouth. "But enough about me. What happened with Dent?"

Pain flashed in Bruce's eyes, but was quickly replaced by his stoic mask. His hand unconsciously went to his bruised rib from where Harvey had shot his Kevlar Armor. Bruce didn't think that LJ had noticed, but she did.

He paused before explaining the whole event to collect his thoughts. Bruce's voice was pained as he tried to describe the disaster. It was especially deep when he explained how Batman had to disappear for a while. LJ's wide eyes never left Bruce's wounded ones as he lamented his story. She silently grieved for how the Joker distorted Harvey Dent so severely that he killed four people. She even grieved for the temporary death of Batman. From what she had seen of Bruce so far, those two identities were barely interchangeable. He was the Batman and the Batman was him. It wasn't a matter of if he was wearing the cowl or not. She knew it would be hard for him to just ignore injustice, and he would need some sort of help keeping him at bay. And she wanted to be that anchor.

LJ grasped at his hand once he stopped talking and looked him in the eyes. "Bruce, listen to me. This _is_ for the best. Gotham will rebuild, and though they might not thank you for it, _you'll _know, I'll know, and Gordon'll know that it was possible because of you. And what really matters is that the Joker will be locked up, and Gotham will be able to move on. Soon he will be forgotten, maybe you'll be forgotten too, but that won't matter because everything will be _better_. Maybe there'll come a day when Gotham does need you again. And you'll be here. But until then, we wait."

"It's not that simple . . ." he mused.

"It is. If you let it be. You learned to be Batman, now you just have to learn to be Bruce Wayne again," LJ let go of his hand and speared a few more pieces of fruit into her mouth. She laughed before adding, "I'll help you, it's not that hard to be normal."

"I've never been normal . . ."

"All the more reason for me to help you," she said quickly.

Suddenly, LJ's phone began to ring stopping their conversation abruptly. "This always seems to happen, doesn't it?" She said sarcastically. LJ quickly answered her phone. Bruce watched as her eyes squinted in anger.

"You're kidding me-"

"You _have_ to be joking-"

"I'm coming in first thing tomorrow-"

Bruce couldn't make out what the conversation was about, but he could hear the anger emanating in her voice. He knew there was only one other person in Gotham to make her that angry, and that was the Joker.

"What's wrong?" He asked as soon as she hung up her phone.

"They've moved _him_ to Arkham Asylum," she spat in fury. "He _deserves_ to be in Blackgate."

"A jury will never put him in Arkham. He planned on killing hundreds of people. They're not going to put him in _therapy_." LJ nodded furiously in agreement as she set her phone on the table and rested her face in her hands. She let out a loud, aggravated sigh.

"I've, uh, got to go. I have to call the DA, and, uh, I don't really know . . ." she muttered into her hands. She was too tired to even think, let alone plan anything.

LJ started to stand up, but Bruce grabbed her arm before she could turn to leave. "Oh no you don't. Not tonight. I heard you say that you would go in first _tomorrow_ morning. Let me help you now."

...

LJ caved and spent the next few hours practicing her deposition with Bruce, while she waited for her apartment to be ready to move into. Not only did it make her feel better, but it also distracted Bruce from the painful truth of losing his identity.

"He's going to have a mob lawyer," she admitted angrily.

Bruce nodded in agreement but then shrugged as if it meant nothing, "The mob's in jail. The jury won't be afraid of going against them anymore."

She rolled her eyes and started to play the devils advocate, "The Joker still has followers."

Again, Bruce gave her a chiding look and waved his hand in dismissal. "His _followers_ are anything but loyal. They were insane and expendable, and they won't be doing anything for him now that he's in jail."

"Okay so say you _are_ right, how to we keep him from pleading insanity? Anyone who even _looks_ at him knows he's completely psychotic."

"That's where your deposition comes in. You have to tell your story like we practiced. You'll have to convince them just how smart he really is. They'll trust you."

She nodded and looked at the time, realizing that they hadn't moved for almost two hours. She replayed her story over and over again in her head, trying not to forget any details. "I've got to go, I'm moving into a new apartment. As you saw. I guess I don't have to worry about meeting any _bats_ on my fire escape anymore, huh?" she said, trying to lighten the mood.

"No, I guess not," Bruce said, returning a small smile. "I guess I'll have to learn to use a door."

"See, I'm helping you already," she countered dryly.

...

Like her old apartment, her new one came fully furnished, so it didn't take long to move in. The walls had been painted a light cream color as if to make the space look bigger, but nothing could disguise the tight space. There were worn wooden floors that had been coated with lacquer to make them look new. A small white table stood in the corner and was surrounded by four brown stools. Generic photographs were framed on the wall and hung crookedly. A door on the right led to an even smaller kitchen with newer appliances. LJ preferred the living room that was surprisingly quaint. Canvas lounge chairs and couches with bright throw pillows brightened up the otherwise boring apartment. LJ surveyed the kitchen, noting that there was no food in the refrigerator. She would have to go grocery shopping later, but that wasn't her main concern at the moment. All she cared about was getting enough sleep so she was well rested for tomorrow. Especially if she was going to make it into Arkham Asylum by the afternoon.

...

"What's _he_ doing here?" LJ hissed as none other than Bruce Wayne stepped onto the ferry going to Arkham Island.

Gordon shrugged, taking a moment to think. "He donates a lot of money to keep Arkham Asylum running. He must take regular visits."

"And he _just happens_ to come today, when the new Defense Attorney is meeting with the Joker?" _Yeah right_. LJ tightened her fists in anger; Bruce just couldn't let go of his Batman persona. And it was going to be the death of him. She just knew it.

"He probably doesn't even know about that. He's too caught up in himself to pay attention to the news," Gordon quickly dismissed the billionaire's presence and checked his watch impatiently . LJ, however, couldn't just forget he was there, even though she tried incredibly hard. Instead, she tried her hardest to block him from her view.

"So what's the deal with this new DA?" LJ said to change the subject, trying to forget about the unwanted ferry rider.

"Janice Porter? I've only heard rumors . . ." he said dismissively. She tilted her head and looked at her boss critically.

"If she's dirty, I'll need to know," she whispered angrily.

Gordon sighed in defeat, though he didn't really put up much of a front. "She knew Harvey at Gotham University when he was a professor. Some people said there was an inappropriate relationship between the two before she transferred to Harvard. Of course that's all speculation. All I know is that she just had Alberto Falcone moved from Blackgate to Arkham against my recommendation." His face scrunched in annoyance as he checked his watch again. The ferries only traveled to-and-from Arkham twice a day, or as needed. Usually if the police needed access to the island the ferries ran more often, but they were highly regulated. Back when it was first founded, prisoners used it as their preferred method of escape. Now it wasn't very common.

"You've got to be kidding. She's supposed to be on our side."

Before Gordon could say anything else, the ferry lurched forward dangerously. Both LJ and Gordon grasped onto the rusting railing to keep from falling over. The ferry ride didn't take very long. All it had to do was cross the river from the Gotham mainland onto Arkham Island. Bruce had somehow disappeared below deck at some point during the departure without LJ noticing, and she started to worry about all the trouble he was probably causing.

...

Once on the island a large, menacing man in a blue uniform came to greet them. He had a large baton and a taser attached to his utility belt and an Arkham guard badge.

"The name's Cash. You two must be from the GCPD." Though he looked extremely menacing, his voice was almost smooth and comforting. She held out her hand to greet him, but he just shook his head and held out his arm. Where his hand should have been was a plastic hand prosthetic. "Lost it in a riot a few years back," he muttered knowingly.

"I'm Commissioner Gordon and this is Detective Johnson, we're here to oversee the Joker's interrogation." LJ began to wonder why they actually had to witness the interrogation. If anything, someone could have recorded the exchanges. But no, Gordon insisted that they both were present. She suspected it had something to do with the new DA. She knew he didn't quite trust her yet, especially with the Alberto Falcone debacle.

"Follow me," Cash said simply, leading them through the maze that was Arkham Asylum. LJ tried to pay attention to where they were going, but they just seemed to be getting deeper and deeper into the labyrinth. If anything, it seemed like they were going in circles.

LJ could feel the cold stares of both asylum employees and patients alike. It was clear that most of the patients didn't have any respect for law enforcement. Gordon seemed to notice the same thing as LJ because she could tell that he was on edge. Ever since the disaster with Harvey Dent and his family, she could tell that he had changed. He was more cautious and angry. She realized that, in his case, the Joker had succeeded in turning his world upside down. Coming to Arkham was probably more painful for him than it was for her.

...

"Right through here. You know the drill. It's a two way mirror, so you'll be able to see and hear them but not the other way around," Cash said as he ushered them into a grimy room that looked a lot like a small interrogation room with only two chairs facing the glass wall.

The moment LJ's eyes fell on the Joker, she felt a visceral repulsion. He didn't look much different than he did a few days ago. She could tell he hadn't showered in their time apart. Though because he had short hair now it wasn't as apparent. But that wasn't what drew her eyes to his face. Somehow he had gotten ahold of some sort of red substance and had is smeared across his face. The more she stared the more she realized that it was human blood. LJ knew she shouldn't be surprised that he tried to hold onto his fleeting identity as best as he could, but it was still so gruesome.

LJ soon realized that Bruce and the Joker were suffering the same sort of identity crisis. Neither could let go of their past very easily, but she hoped that Bruce would adjust much more easily. In his case, he had everything going for him. He had friends, a job, and freedom. In the Joker's case, he had nothing; he had lost everything. But what scared LJ was that all the Joker could do was improve, whereas Bruce had everything to lose.

Almost right after the two police officers settled into the chairs, Janice Porter entered the room behind the glass wall. Instead of looking at her, LJ trained her eyes on the Joker. Before she had entered, he seemed relaxed and distracted. His eyes were focused on a crack on the wall near the mirror. As soon as she entered, his whole body tensed. HIs hands scrunched into fists as they sat chained in his lap. He scanned her up and down and sneered. LJ could already tell he was going to be difficult. Especially since it was supposed to be her job to prove that he was faking insanity.

"Does she know we're in here?" LJ asked as the new DA introduced herself to the Joker. Unfortunately, Gordon nodded his head. Not only did that mean Porter would be on her best behavior, but that also meant that she could let it slip to the Joker that she was in the building. LJ knew that that would prove to be plain disastrous if it happened. She shook that nightmare from her mind and quickly decided to pay more attention to the interrogation.

"Patient number 0801. Height, six foot two inches. Brown eyes. Name unknown. Weights 200 pounds. Distinguishing attributes: Glasgow Smile," Porter read from his file, pausing only to see if anything she said got a reaction. But the Joker hadn't even moved an inch.

"Is _that_ what it says? Hmm, that's, uh, news to me." The Joker's sneer never left his scarred lips as he brushed her off.

"I'm not here to play games. I'm here to assess your state of mind and decide where you belong. Now, it will go much easier if you answer my questions." LJ had to give it to Porter, she was tough. And she knew what she was doing. If she hadn't known that she was possibly corrupt, LJ wouldn't have caught onto the double meaning of what she said. But she could tell the Joker definitely caught on. She basically told him that she was what was keeping him from Arkham, and that could be changed. _She's sneaky,_ LJ thought disdainfully. Apparently she put too much faith into the system that she was a part of. Not everyone was as clean as Gordon and herself; that was very clear.

"I _do _like games-ah. _Very_ much. But I can tell you don't quite know where I'm coming from. _Harvey Dent_ did. I like**d** him. And _Bat_man . . . though I don't like him as much-ah. And, hmm," he paused and closed his eyes as if remembering a dream, "_Logan Johnson_. She, uh, understood. **But**, I don't think _you do." _LJ rolled her eyes and looked at Porter's reaction. She gave a side-long glance at the mirror as if to tell the Joker that they were in the opposite room. _Jesus Christ_, she growled to herself. _This woman __**wants**__ to ruin everything._

"Well then I'm here to understand. Tell me why you're here."

The Joker shrugged, "I had one bad day. Now, how about _you_ tell me why you're here," his tone was still dismissive.

"I told you why I'm here. I'm here to decide if you deserve to stay at Arkham or at Blackgate. Next question," she paused looking at the sheets of paper on the table in front of her.

Before she could ask him her routine questions, he interrupted her. "Let me ask _you_ this. Did you have to sleep with all of your bosses to get this job or just Harvey Dent?" His eyes were trained intently on her body language, picking up on her every thought. LJ couldn't see Porter's face since she was facing the Joker, but LJ imagined it was shocked and disgusted.

Porter's voice stuttered, "W-what? W-why would you even _think_ that?" LJ shook her head angrily. Porter shouldn't have shown weakness. She should have changed the subject and moved on. Instead, she let the Joker into her mind, and he wasn't going to let go.

"You see, I'm a good _judge of character._ And I can tell you would do _anything_ to get _on top_," he taunted her with his sing song-y voice. The not-so-subtle innuendo seemed to make her even angrier. A smile crossed the Joker's face, knowing that he was getting his way. His hands that were once clenched into fists were now relaxed and rubbing his thighs. Something had changed, and LJ knew it.

"Gordon, you have to get her out of there. Give her time to cool down and go back in there. Something. _Anything_. We can't have her screw this up," Gordon nodded in agreement, as he stormed out of the small observation room. LJ watched as Porter struggled for words but couldn't find any. A look of smug triumph was plastered on the Joker's blood-smeared face. He crossed his arms over his chest and relaxed in his chair proudly. She saw this movement out of the corner of her eye since her eyes were trained on the door, waiting for Gordon to break up the meeting. Her heart started to beat quickly as that movement registered in her mind. _What happened to his handcuffs?!_ LJ's mind started to race as she chased after Gordon.

"Gordon get her out of there! He's out of the cuffs!" She shouted from behind the door frame. Instead of chasing after her boss, she ran off to find Cash.

Apparently the guard had heard her and came running toward the disturbance.

"What's going on?" He asked hurriedly, glancing from her to the open observation room door.

"I'm not sure, he got out of the cuffs somehow. Gordon's in there now," she talked as quickly as she could before running into the observation room again.

Gordon had drew his gun and had it aimed at the Joker. Porter was cowering behind him, and the Joker was laughing. Suddenly, a distressed voice came from the other end of Cash's walkie talkie.

"All available hands to Maximum Security. Code red. Employ lockdown sequence."

"Cash, what does that mean?" she demanded.

Cash's normally tranquil eyes were wide and fearful. He paused before turning to her and replying in a shaky voice, "Arkham Island is on lockdown . . . They're rioting. All of the prisoners are rioting."

**Ahh cliff hanger! Haha I can't wait to write the next chapter! As you can tell, if you've ever played Arkham Asylum (the video game) I drew my inspiration from that! Please review, I really love hearing from you guys! Also, I go back to college in like two weeks so you guys need to kick my butt to keep writing. I want to have this story finished before school starts! That's at least 14 days to write around 5-ish chapters. We'll see how that goes! **


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